Future generations will have to answer this question seriously

Aug 3, 2009 15:06 GMT  ·  By

The fact that the Sun will not last forever is now clear to the entire scientific community, and indeed most of the world. We know that it appeared about 4.57 billion years ago, and that, in about five billion years or so it will begin to swell into a red giant. This will happen because it doesn't have enough mass to explode into a supernova. The bad news is that, when it starts swelling, it will eventually expand to a region that now hosts our planet's orbit. That means that the Earth will literally be engulfed by flames.

Experts say that there is a small possibility the Earth will remain untouched by the solar surface, although, even in this scenario, temperatures on the surface become too great for liquid water to exist, exterminating all life and making the world a vast desert. However, the growing consent in the astronomical community is that we will be swallowed. We should still take comfort in knowing that the situation can be addressed, some expert say.

It is possible that looser gravitational bounds would allow for our planet to escape to a safer orbit naturally, before the swelling Sun gets to it. But this scenario carries its catches too, experts say. “If that were the only effect, the Earth would indeed escape final destruction. However, the tenuous outer atmosphere of the sun extends a long way beyond its visible surface, and it turns out the Earth would actually be orbiting within these very low density outer layers,” University of Sussex Emeritus Reader Robert Smith explains, quoted by Space.

But these phenomena will take place a long time after everything that is alive on Earth will die. In about a billion years, the increased brightness and heat of the Sun will cause water in the world's oceans to vaporize and disappear. This will essentially kill everything that requires water to live, including plant species, animals, and humans. Additionally, plummeting carbon dioxide levels will annihilate all plant life, which will no longer be able to conduct photosynthesis, depleting all oxygen sources.

According to astronomers at the Santa Cruz University, in California, the only real sets of solutions are those assuming the human race, together with selected species of animals and plants, leaves the planet, and continues living on among the stars. Colonies on Mars, Ceres, Europa, Enceladus and other places in the solar system and beyond may no longer be a thing of scientific exploration, but a basic necessity for survival. Fortunately, the Sun's schedule will give future generations enough time to evolve scientifically to the point where all this becomes possible.