For generations, scientists have believed they knew exactly how Earth would die. In roughly five billion years, after exhausting the hydrogen fuel at its core, the sun will swell into a giant red star and eventually expand so much that it engulfs the inner planets. According to most previous studies, Earth is expected to be among the casualties.
A new study, however, suggests the story may not be so straightforward.
Using improved models of stellar tides and updated estimates of how much mass the aging sun could lose, researchers found that Earth might escape the sun’s final expansion instead of being swallowed by it.
“Based on updated tidal dissipation prescriptions, Earth survives the RGB and AGB phases of the sun,” the study authors note.
However, arriving at that conclusion required revisiting one of the most uncertain aspects of the sun’s future evolution.
To read more, click here.