The Sun is our primary source of energy and life. The giant star is not only responsible for emitting light on our planet but is also responsible for creating and sustaining life on Earth. 

Without it, life would cease to exist on our planet. 

Many years ago, scientists predicted that the ball of burning plasma will eventually burn out and when this happens the Earth and all its life forms will be destroyed as well. 

The timeline of when the sun will die has been predicted by new research that was published in Nature Astronomy.

When Will The Sun Die?

Like everything else, including massive cosmic entities, our very own and only star, the Sun also has a life span. 

Scientists have long been fascinated by the birth and death of the massive burning star that is responsible for life on our planet. 

The Sun, which is estimated to be around 4.6 billion years old, first materialized from a molecular cloud consisting of helium and hydrogen.

Earlier, experts predicted that the Sun was to become a planetary nebula, a bright bubble of gas and cosmic dust. This research conducted by the University of Manchester said that the star will shrink down and turn into a white dwarf. However, further research on the subject revealed that the Sun would need to be larger in size in order to turn into a planetary nebula.  

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A newer study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, reveals that the Sun will die in the coming 10 billion years or so. This new research reveals counters the study published in 2018, revealing that the Sun will turn into a red giant, not a white dwarf in the next 5 billion years. 

The Sun’s core will contract after it will run out of fuel. 

According to NASA, after turning into a red giant, the outer layers of the Sun will expand so much that it will reach the orbit of Mars, simultaneously melting and devouring the planets closest to it, including Earth, if the planet still exists by then. All of these events will take approximately 10 billion years to happen. 

However, humans will not be around to see the death of our one and only star. It is estimated that all life forms on the planet Earth will cease to exist in about 1 billion years. 

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The Sun’s brightness is growing by around 10% per billion years. About 4.26 million metric tonnes of energy are produced by the sun per second and even a 10% rise in it would have disastrous results on the planet. How?

Increased brightness means more generation of heat reaching our planet. More heat will mean that the water bodies present on Earth, including our oceans, will evaporate, and it will get too hot on the surface for fresh water to develop. And thus without water, the planet and all its lifeforms will perish. 

However, there are theories circulating that while humans and the majority of other living creatures will die in the coming one billion years, other life forms would develop that will be able to withstand the scorching heat. 

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Whatever the case, one thing is certain, humans have only a billion years to survive, unless we can find another habitable planet to live on.