The REAL Doomsday
The sun is a star. Stars eventually “die.” It’s not a matter of if, but when. It’s safe to say that the Earth’s existence depends entirely on the sun — when the sun dies, the Earth goes with it. Experts can only provide estimates, but they claim that the 4.5 billion-year-old star is due to go in the next 5 billion years. But there’s a caveat: all life on Earth can exist for only 1 billion years more.
Why’s that? Experts say that the sun is now in the most stable part of its life. It’s currently classified as a main sequence star, a phase that’s purported to last for over 8 billion years. Once it’s past this phase, the sun turns into a “Red Giant” — a cooler, bigger version of itself.
That’s better, right? A cooler, bigger sun means less global warming and more energy! Not so fast. When the sun balloons into a Red Giant, its surface will reach the current orbit of Mars. In its fiery way lies the Earth and its impending doom. Since the sun’s gravitational pull is too strong, it will literally suck Earth in and rapidly disintegrate it. And before the sun actually engulfs the Earth, all life would’ve died out. As soon as the sun’s surface gets too close, the oceans will literally boil.
Taking Stock
It’s not wrong to use up the energy the sun gives. What matters most is that the start of the sun’s demise is still way too far ahead into the future. Remember that life on Earth has existed for approximately 3.5 billion years. It has survived numerous asteroid impacts, freezing temperatures, and even radiation. The remaining 1 billion years ahead still has something up its sleeve, and something else might snuff the life out of Earth before the sun even begins its transition. A nuclear war? A pandemic? Nobody knows—maybe even zombies could spell out the end of life. For now, people can rest assured that the sun will continue to provide much-needed energy.
