The end of the world, a slow process on a human scale, has already begun and will end with the disappearance of life in the Earth in about 500 million years. However, this end will be just one of many that our planet will face when the Sol begin its inexorable transformation.
How will the Sun die?
The end of the Sol It is an event that, despite its remoteness, has already been extensively studied and anticipated by astronomers. It is believed that this process will occur within a few 7.000 million years. But the death of the Sol It is a more complex phenomenon than it seems, since it goes through several stages that mark its exhaustion process.
Currently, the Sun, like other stars, is in the phase known as main sequence. During this phase, the Sol burns hydrogen in its core and transforms it into helium in a process known as nuclear fusionBut the time will come when this hydrogen will run out.
When this happens, the Sol will begin to use hydrogen from the outer layers, causing its outer layers to expand considerably. This transformation will turn the Sun into a red giant, a phase in which its size will increase until reaching about 200 times its current size.
In that process, helium in the Sun's core will also begin to fuse to form heavier elements, such as carbon and the oxygenMeanwhile, in the outer layers, hydrogen fusion will continue, greatly increasing the Sun's luminosity, which could reach up to 10.000 times brighter that in its current phase.
At this red giant stage, the Sol will swallow the nearest planets like Mercury y Venus, and will probably also involve the Earth.
What will happen to the Earth?
The consequences for the Earth during the red giant phase will be devastating. Long before the Sun consumes our planet, the effects of rising temperatures will begin to be catastrophic. It is estimated that in about 500 million years, conditions on Earth will no longer be suitable to sustain human life or any other complex life form.
Increased solar radiation will cause the oceans to begin to evaporate, leading to the disappearance of humanity. Although some microorganisms may be able to survive in extreme environments for some time, the Earth's climate will become completely uninhabitable.
Eventually, when the Sun becomes a red giant, it is likely that the Earth either dragged into the Sun and destroyed, or burned to a crisp, barren rock.
The Sun will turn the Earth into stardust
Once the Sol ends its cycle as a red giant, it will expel its outer layers in a spectacular phenomenon called planetary nebulaWhat remains of the Sun's core will be a White dwarf, a dense stellar remnant that will be the size of the Earth and will shine dimly for billions of years more.
after a few 12.000 million years of existence, the Earth will be absorbed by the Sun or disintegrate, leaving only cosmic dust. In that final phase, the Sun will be nothing more than an inert remnant, a white dwarf, and the Solar system will become a cold and empty desert.
The future of the planets in the Solar System
While the inner planets like Mercury y Venus will be destroyed by the Sol During its red giant phase, the most distant planets such as Jupiter y Saturn will have a different fate. Although the Sun will not swallow them, the extreme conditions caused by the collapse of the Sun will transform their atmospheres and environments.
In fact, some studies suggest that it is possible that planets like Jupiter o Saturn remain orbiting the white dwarf that will remain after the death of the Sun, although its environment will probably be more hostile.
In this scenario, there is evidence that certain exoplanets around white dwarfs could retain part of their atmospheres and, in some cases, continue to exist for long periods of time.
Could new life emerge after the death of the Sun?
Although life as we know it in the Earth will disappear long before the Sol becomes a white dwarf, some researchers have suggested that there is a possibility of new life forms emerging in the outer reaches of the Solar System.
During his final moments, the Sol could heat distant celestial bodies such as Pluto or Kuiper Belt bodies, making possible the existence of conditions that could support life in forms still unknown to us.
An example of this is that some studies have shown that planets around white dwarfs can offer stable conditions for billions of years, which could allow the emergence of completely new life forms elsewhere in the universe. Solar system.
Although the end of the Sun It will be a devastating event for the EarthThe universe does not stand still. In fact, some scientists think that in the future, other forms of life or civilizations could emerge from stellar debris, following an endless cycle in the evolution of the cosmos.