The Sun's Future: What Happens When it Runs Out of Energy?
Imagine what life on Earth would be like without the Sun – it’s hard to picture, right? Our planet relies on the Sun’s energy to survive. But what happens when the Sun runs out of energy?
Scientists say that, like all stars, the Sun has a limited lifespan. One day, it will die. When this happens, it will become a white dwarf, a tiny, dense star that has used up all its fuel. This process will have some big consequences for our solar system.
Researchers from the University of Warwick studied this and found that when the Sun turns into a white dwarf, it will pull parts of our solar system, including Earth, towards it. This will happen in about 6 billion years.
Sadly, Earth will likely be swallowed by the expanding Sun before it becomes a white dwarf. Other parts of our solar system, like asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, and some of Jupiter’s moons, might get pulled towards the white dwarf too.
During their study, the researchers looked at the brightness of three different white dwarf stars over 17 years. They found that objects passing in front of these stars caused changes in brightness. This suggests that the fate of objects around white dwarf stars is chaotic and violent.
When planets, asteroids, or moons get too close to a white dwarf, they get torn apart by its strong gravity. Eventually, they become dust.
It’s fascinating to see how these systems change over time, but understanding their fate is more complicated than we thought.
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