[The Epoch Times, April 10, 2024] (Compiled and reported by Epoch Times reporter Li Yan) Scientists warned in a new study that our planet will be swallowed up by the expanding sun. At the same time, other planets in the solar system will be "pulverized into dust." Thankfully, there's no need to panic just yet. Scientists say this could happen in about 6 billion years.
According to the "Daily Mail" report, research from the University of Warwick in the UK explained that stars like the sun squeeze hydrogen atoms into helium under the influence of huge gravity, thereby producing light and heat. However, all stars have a finite amount of hydrogen. When the hydrogen begins to run out, the forces keeping the star stable are thrown out of balance.
Beginning in about 5 billion years, our sun will burn out the hydrogen in its core and then begin burning helium in its outer layers, expanding outward to more than 200 times its original size.
Some massive stars explode as supernovae when they collapse, but ours is small enough to die directly after consuming the last of its nuclear fuel.
This will happen in about 6 billion years. By then, only the ultra-dense remnants of the Sun's core will be left, becoming a white dwarf star that is emitting residual heat as it slowly cools. It may be as massive as the Sun, but no larger than the Earth, and therefore has an extremely strong gravitational field.
Professor Boris Gaensicke from the University of Warwick said: "The sad news is that the Earth is likely to be swallowed by the expanding sun before it turns into a white dwarf."
However, it's less clear what happens to the rest of the solar system once the sun transforms into a white dwarf.
Uncertain fate
In their new study, the researchers examined the brightness of three white dwarfs over 17 years.
By observing the rise and fall in brightness, scientists can determine when objects pass in front of the sun and what types of objects they are.
For most stars, changes in brightness or transit are highly predictable as the planet moves regularly in its pattern.
But around white dwarfs, researchers found that transits are highly chaotic and irregular. This suggests that the fate of objects around white dwarfs can be violently catastrophic.
Planets, asteroids and satellites that approach the dense core of a white dwarf star will be torn into pieces under the influence of gravity. Eventually, the pieces are crushed into dust as they collide with each other.
This dust continues to orbit the dead star until it eventually dissipates into the universe.
In our solar system, this will be the fate of many remaining objects that are not swallowed up or destroyed by the expansion of the sun. However, the unpredictability of white dwarf systems makes studying them even more difficult.
"The simple fact that we are detecting fragments of asteroids, moons and even planets whizzing past white dwarfs every few hours is eye-opening," Gaineske said. "But our study shows that these systems are Behavior can evolve quickly."
"The unpredictability of these transits drives astronomers crazy—one minute they're there, the next they're gone. It's an indication of the chaos of the environment they're in."
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Post time: Apr-15-2024