“When will the Sun die? Astrophysicist predicts its fate”

JAKARTA – Even though it has a big role in the life of creatures on Earth, the Sun will not be eternal. There will come a time, when the Sun explodes causing a mass extinction in the universe.

Although the Sun’s death is still trillions of years away, this massive star is now entering its middle age.

An astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics, Paolo Testa said, that the remaining age of the Sun is about 5 billion years from now.

“The sun is less than 5 billion years old. It’s a kind of middle-aged star, in the sense that its life will be around 10 billion years or more,” said Testa, quoted from Live Science, Sunday (7/5/2023).

This is supported by NASA’s explanation, approximately 5 billion years from now the sun will stop producing heat through nuclear fusion, its core will become unstable and contract.

The outermost parts of the Sun that still contain hydrogen will expand, then glow red as they cool.

This expansion will gradually engulf the planets neighboring the Sun, such as Mercury and Venus. In addition, the solar wind will also rise to a point where it can destroy the Earth’s magnetic field and release its atmosphere.