Scientists have found that Earth will not be swallowed by the Sun in approximately five billion years [1].
This discovery alters the long-term outlook for the solar system. While previous models suggested the planet was doomed to be consumed as its star aged, new data regarding solar instability indicates a different fate.
According to NASA, the Sun will eventually expand into a red giant and engulf Mercury and Venus [2]. However, the new study predicts that Earth will avoid this same fate [1]. The research focuses on the eventual instability of the star, which may prevent the expansion from reaching Earth's orbit.
"This is a really good news story for humanity," Dr. Chris Lintott, an astronomer at University College London, said [3].
The timeline for these events remains vast, spanning five billion years [1]. Despite the distance in time, the findings provide a more precise understanding of how stars evolve and interact with their orbiting planets. The stability of the solar system is influenced by the mass loss and rotational changes the Sun will experience as it exhausts its hydrogen fuel.
While the planet will avoid physical engulfment, the process of the Sun becoming a red giant will still fundamentally change the environment of the inner solar system. The expansion will still destroy the innermost planets, Mercury and Venus [2], but Earth is expected to remain outside the reach of the solar envelope [1].
“"This is a really good news story for humanity,"”
This research shifts the astronomical consensus on the end-of-life cycle of our solar system. By accounting for solar instability, researchers have moved Earth from the 'doomed' category to a survivor, though the planet will still face extreme environmental shifts as the Sun evolves into a red giant.
