When will sun die
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When Will the Sun Die?
Understanding the lifecycle of our Sun is crucial for comprehending the future of our solar system. This article synthesizes current scientific research on the Sun's eventual demise, drawing from multiple studies to provide a clear picture of what to expect.
Sun's Lifecycle and Red Giant Phase
Sun's Current Age and Future Lifespan
The Sun is approximately 4.5 billion years old and is expected to continue burning for another 4.5 billion years before it exhausts its nuclear fuel2. This timeline places us roughly at the midpoint of the Sun's life.
Transition to Red Giant
As the Sun depletes its hydrogen fuel, it will enter the red giant phase. During this period, the Sun will expand significantly, potentially engulfing the inner planets, including Earth. The Sun's radius will increase by about 20% beyond Earth's current orbit, and it will become 3,000 times brighter than it is today2.
Mass Loss and Impact on the Solar System
Mass Loss Mechanism
The Sun will lose about half of its current mass through a non-linear process over several phases of its post-main-sequence evolution1. This mass loss will occur as the Sun sheds its outer layers, eventually leaving behind a dense core known as a white dwarf.
Effects on Orbiting Bodies
The reduction in the Sun's mass will cause the orbits of surviving bodies to expand. The critical semimajor axis within which an orbiting body is guaranteed to remain bound to the dying Sun is approximately 103-104 astronomical units (au)1. Objects located near or beyond this boundary, such as those in the Oort Cloud, will have their fates determined by their positions along their orbits when the Sun exits the main sequence.
Final Stages: White Dwarf
Formation of a White Dwarf
After the red giant phase, the Sun will shed its outer layers, leaving behind a white dwarf. This remnant will contain about half of the Sun's original mass and will no longer undergo nuclear fusion2. The white dwarf will gradually cool and fade over billions of years.
Conclusion
The Sun's death is a complex process that will unfold over billions of years. It will transition from its current stable state to a red giant, shedding much of its mass, and finally settle as a white dwarf. This transformation will have profound effects on the solar system, altering the orbits of planets and other celestial bodies. Understanding these stages helps us prepare for the distant future of our cosmic neighborhood.
Sources and full results
Most relevant research papers on this topic
The Solar System's Post-Main Sequence Escape Boundary
The critical semimajor axis for orbiting bodies in the Solar System to remain bound to the dying Sun is 103-104 au, with few extrasolar Oort Clouds likely to survive post-main-sequence evolution intact.
Religion-Scientific Study of Solar Resting Phase and Solar-Lunar Finality
The Sun has a resting phase and the Last Hour, and scientists have found that the Sun has lived for 4.5 billion years and will end as a white dwarf with half its mass after its red giant phase.
What did Sun Yat-sen really die of? A re-assessment of his illness and the cause of his death
Sun Yat-sen's death was actually caused by adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder with widespread metastases to the peritoneal cavity, not liver cancer.
Rigorous JournalThe sunburn cell: regulation of death and survival of the keratinocyte.
Chronic UVB stress deregulated the balance between survival and apoptosis in sunburn cells, leading to the development of skin cancer.
Highly CitedDietary inflammatory index and all-cause mortality in large cohorts: The SUN and PREDIMED studies.
A pro-inflammatory diet is strongly associated with increased all-cause mortality, as demonstrated in both the SUN and PREDIMED studies.
Meta-Analysis
Very Rigorous JournalHighly CitedSolar activity and mortality in the United States.
Solar activity does not show a correlation with cardiovascular mortality in the US.
Observational StudyThe relationship between sun exposure and all-cause mortality
Sun exposure avoidance is a major risk factor for all-cause mortality, with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and noncancer/non-CVD deaths, but also a higher prevalence of skin cancer.
Literature ReviewSun exposure and mortality from melanoma.
Sun exposure is associated with increased survival from melanoma, with skin awareness and solar elastosis being strongly and independently associated with melanoma death.
Observational StudyRigorous JournalHighly CitedDoes it matter if a story character lives or dies?: a message experiment comparing survivor and death narratives
Death narratives in melanoma stories increase sun safe behavior intentions compared to survivor narratives, with transportation and counterarguing acting as key mediators.
RCT
Large Human Trial