Can life survive the death of the sun?

With the stability of the summer and the temperatures in the northern hemisphere are concerted, it is impossible to forget the extent of the sun’s effect on our planet. It is an overwhelming majority, the source of all our light and heat, which provides enough to maintain the sensitive climate balance that we enjoy. This is not a coincidence. Life on Earth has evolved under the influence of the sun, and given time, adapt to any changes.

Adapting to the star’s whims is not a small task, however. The sun may appear fixed from day to day, but let the time extend for millions or even billions of years, and things change – a lot. This is not always for the better.

For example, in his nuclear thermal heart, The valve sun About 700 million tons of hydrogen in 695 million tons of helium every second. The five million tons of lost tons are converted into energy (through the preferred equation for all, e = mc2). This is enough energy, as it turned out, To run the star. If you like the exciting numbers of the mind, the sun produces 4 x 1026 WhatsApp of power – 400 trillion watts. In other words, the energy that our star emanates in one second is sufficient for contentment Overal human consumption About 650,000 years.


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It is also enough to warm our planet to its current comfortable word. In fact, by using some basic physics principles, it is possible to calculate how to give the warm Earth a rate of sun energy emission. Solar energy flows into space in all directions around the sun, a small part (about half a billion) is intercepted, and our planet heated. Only a bit complex heating, depending on the actual radioactive flow of the sun, the distance of the Earth far and reflection, and more. Run numbers, average ground calculated Today’s temperature is about 15 ° C, cooler than the freezing point in the water.

actual However, the land temperature measurements Give a warmer averageAbout 15 degrees C. This warming is mostly a natural greenhouse gases, keep in mind, however We add approximately 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the air every yearA significant increase in the effect of warming. Note that this increase has occurred over the past century or so, which is a very short time scale so that it does not see any change from the sun; The current climate change of the Earth is all of us.

But the sun’s energy production changes significantly – more than hundreds of millions of years. This helium, which was created in the heart, is inactive. Think of the matter as “ashes” of nuclear fusion. It settles in the center of the sun, over time (at a rate of 695 million tons per second!). When you gain the mass, it is also pressed with the huge weight of the sun’s layers over it, so it presses. The basic law of physics is that the gas pressure heats it, so although the fusion rate is the same, the essence of the sun is still slowly heated over time – which means that the sun itself is increasing illuminated.

If we turn on the watch forward, eon or two, we find a disaster. As the sun grows brighterly, the Earth’s temperature will first raise a lot We will lose all water vapor in Jona And then, in the endand All surface water on the planet. Our oceans will evaporate. This global drought is cultivated firmly with a sign of stopping for all life on Earth. However, if it is comfortable, this will not happen until three billion years from now.

The reactions that occur in the heart of the sun become very complex after this pointBut the biggest effect is that our energy output will eventually increase wonderfully. All this energy will be thrown into the outer layers of the sun. When you heat the gas, it expands, so the sun will outperform huge ratios – 100 to 150 times as it is now. At the same time, its surface temperature will decrease, so that it becomes more amazing, even radiates the energy of 2400 times than it is now. This turns the sun into a giant red star.

The sun will be very large, in fact, so that it consumes mercury and flower. The Earth may escape this fate. Astronomers argue about whether or not the expanding sun will reach the Earth. As is the case, Things do not look good.

Even if the earth survives, it will not be beautiful. Our planet will be about 1300 ° C, hot enough to melt lead. During the day, rocks will melt on the roof, and the Earth will be the lava world. Moreover, our planet will lose its atmosphere to space when it is also hot.

Is there any way for the land to escape this fate? How do other planets wage?

To answer both questions honestly and in order, they were asked: “Not really” and “not good”. There is a slight decrease because with the expansion of the sun, its solar wind becomes more powerful – in fact, to the extent that the sun loses a large amount of mass. This means that the danger of our star will weaken the planets and migrate abroad, away from the central son -in -law oven for the solar system.

But this is not enough. Jupiter, currently with a temperature of cold – 110 ° C, will reach more than 300 ° C. We will not find a haven there.

If you want to find a climate of Clemement marginally anywhere in this far solar system, you may have to look to Pluto, which will at that time be more than 50 times more than the sun than Earth. Its surface temperature will be approximately -10 ° C. This cold is still, but remember the effect of the greenhouse: there is a lot of frozen methane and carbon dioxide on Pluto, so these ices can evaporate and may provide enough thermal retention to make the small world at least somewhat comfortable, if not exactly.

What then? It gets worse, if you can imagine. The sun shines from its outer layers and is exposed to the nucleus, which turns into what astronomers call a white dwarf. Although the nucleus is incredibly hot, the nucleus only exceeds the size of the Earth, it is so small that it provides a very few heat for the planets. It cools again, in the end it decreases much less than the freezing point of any biologically useful molecule.

If there is any degree of good news here, this will not happen for several billion years. Who knows how humanity will look at that time or if we are still present? If we are, well, more stars are born all the time, and they will also have planets. Packing and moving is never fun, but if your home is burning, there is no big choice. Perhaps we can find another land there where we can settle for Eon or three before this entire process begins again.

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