Mercedes Mullins
The sun is the medium-sized star at the centre of our solar system. It is the source of light and energy that makes life on Earth possible. However, the sun, like all stars, will eventually run out of fuel. When this happens, the sun will undergo a dramatic transformation, expanding into what is known as a red giant. This will mark the end of life on Earth, but it may also create habitable worlds in the outer reaches of the solar system, such as Pluto. So, how much fuel does the sun have left?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Estimated years of fuel left | 5-7 billion years |
| Sun's current phase | Main sequence |
| Sun's core temperature | 27 million °F (15 million °C) |
| Sun's surface temperature | 10,000 °F (5,500 °C) |
| Sun's outer atmosphere temperature | 3.5 million °F (2 million °C) |
| Sun's size | 99.8% of the solar system's mass |
| Sun's composition | 74.9% hydrogen, 23.8% helium, and less than 2% heavier elements (oxygen, carbon, neon, iron, etc.) |
| Sun's rotation rate | Once per week at the core, four times the mean surface rotation rate |
| Sun's fate | Likely a white dwarf for trillions of years, then a black dwarf |
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What You'll Learn
The sun has around 5 billion years of fuel left
The sun currently has around 5 billion years of fuel left. It is currently in the most stable phase of its life cycle, which it has been in since the formation of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
The sun is a G-type main-sequence star, also known as a yellow dwarf. It is made up of mainly hydrogen and helium, with hydrogen being fused into helium in the core through nuclear fusion. Each second, the sun fuses about 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium. This process releases an enormous amount of energy, which has fuelled the sun for billions of years.
However, the sun's fuel supply is finite, and it is estimated that it will run out of hydrogen in about 5 billion years. As the sun continues to fuse hydrogen, its core will shrink, causing the outer layers to contract towards the centre. This will increase the pressure on the core, resulting in a higher rate of fusion and a brighter sun. Scientists estimate that the sun's luminosity increases by 1% every 100 million years.
After the sun exhausts its hydrogen fuel supply, it will enter a new phase. It will begin burning helium, fusing it with carbon, and then carbon and helium into oxygen, neon and helium into magnesium, and so on. This process will trigger the sun's transformation into a Red Giant. The sun will remain in this phase for about 120 million years, during which it will engulf Mercury and Venus, and possibly Earth.
Eventually, the sun will expel its outer layers, leaving behind a white dwarf—a dense, Earth-sized core of mostly carbon and oxygen. This will slowly cool and fade away over trillions of years, until it becomes a black dwarf.
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The sun will become a red giant
The sun will eventually run out of fuel and die. Scientists estimate that the sun has about 5 to 7 billion years left before it exhausts its hydrogen fuel supply. As the sun's core becomes more dominated by helium, it will start burning helium as well as hydrogen, at a much faster rate. This will cause the sun to slowly increase in luminosity and heat up the Earth.
After the sun exhausts its hydrogen fuel, it will enter the red-giant phase. During this phase, the sun will expand to about 256 times its current size, with a radius of 1.19 AU (178 million km; 111 million mi). It will remain in this phase for about 1 billion years, during which it will lose about a third of its mass. Mercury and Venus will be engulfed and destroyed by the sun, and Earth may also meet the same fate. The icy worlds beyond Neptune will likely melt and sublimate and are unlikely to survive.
After the red-giant phase, the sun will have about 120 million years of active life left. At this point, the core of the sun will start fusing helium into carbon, and then carbon and helium into oxygen, neon, and helium into magnesium, and so on until it reaches iron. This process is triggered when the last remaining shell of hydrogen that envelops the core is burned.
Finally, the sun will expel its outer layers and contract into a white dwarf, which will slowly cool and fade away over trillions of years until it becomes a black dwarf.
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The sun will then become a white dwarf
The sun is currently in the most stable phase of its life cycle, known as the main sequence phase. This phase has lasted for about 4.5 billion years since the formation of our solar system. However, the sun's fuel is not infinite, and it is estimated to have around 5 billion years of fuel left. As the sun continues to burn through its hydrogen fuel, its core will shrink, causing the outer layers to contract and increasing the pressure on the core. This will result in the sun becoming brighter over time, with its luminosity increasing by about 1% every 100 million years.
In about 5 billion years, when the sun exhausts its hydrogen fuel supply, it will exit the main sequence phase and undergo a dramatic transformation. The sun will enter the red giant branch (RGB) phase, during which it will expand to enormous proportions, engulfing Mercury and Venus. Earth's orbit will initially expand but will eventually shrink due to tidal forces, leading to Earth also being engulfed by the sun. The sun will spend around a billion years in the RGB phase, losing a significant portion of its mass.
After the RGB phase, the sun will have about 120 million years of active life remaining. During this time, the sun's core will reach the temperature and pressure required to fuse helium into carbon and other heavier elements. This phase will culminate in the sun expelling its outer layers, leaving behind a planetary nebula. The core of the sun will contract into a white dwarf, a state characterized by the slow cooling and fading of the star. The white dwarf will consist mostly of carbon and oxygen, with a thin layer of helium and an outer layer of unburnt hydrogen.
The sun's final state as a white dwarf will be its last for trillions of years before it fades away entirely, leaving our solar system in complete darkness. This extended duration is due to the sun's relatively small size, preventing a more spectacular fate, such as exploding into a supernova or forming a black hole. The sun's journey toward its ultimate demise as a white dwarf underscores the finite nature of even the grandest celestial bodies.
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The sun will eventually become a black dwarf
The sun is currently in the most stable phase of its life cycle, converting hydrogen to helium in its core through nuclear fusion. However, there is only a finite amount of hydrogen in the Sun, and scientists estimate that it will run out in about 5 billion years. As the Sun loses hydrogen, its core shrinks, and the outer layers contract towards the centre, increasing the pressure on the core. This results in a higher rate of fusion, causing the Sun to get brighter with time.
Once the hydrogen is exhausted, the Sun will enter the Red Giant phase, during which it will start burning helium and fusing it with carbon, oxygen, neon, and other elements. The Sun will remain in this phase for about 120 million years before expelling its outer layers and contracting into a white dwarf. This process will destroy Mercury and Venus, and possibly Earth.
As a white dwarf, the Sun will be roughly the size of Earth but will have a mass of about 50% of its present size. It will slowly cool and fade away over trillions of years, eventually becoming a black dwarf. This final transformation will occur after an estimated 10^15 years, leaving the solar system in pitch-black darkness.
In summary, while the Sun has about 5 billion years of fuel left, it will eventually run out and undergo a dramatic transformation. After expelling its outer layers, it will contract into a white dwarf and slowly cool down over trillions of years before becoming a black dwarf.
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Earth will be uninhabitable before the sun runs out of fuel
The sun is the engine that powers life on Earth, providing light, warmth, and the conditions necessary for our existence. It is currently in the most stable phase of its life cycle, which has been ongoing since the formation of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. However, it will eventually run out of fuel and undergo a dramatic transformation.
The sun has about 5-7 billion years left of its main-sequence phase. Once all the hydrogen gets used up, the sun will grow out of this stable phase. It will then start burning helium as well as hydrogen in a shell around its core, at a much faster rate than today. This will cause the sun to get brighter with time. Scientists estimate that the sun's luminosity increases by 1% every 100 million years. About 1.1 billion years from now, the sun will be 10% brighter, triggering a greenhouse effect on Earth similar to what happened to Venus.
As the sun nears the end of its life, it will enter the red-giant phase and expand to enormous proportions. According to one source, the sun will spend about a billion years in this phase and lose around a third of its mass. During this time, Mercury and Venus will certainly be engulfed by the sun, while Earth may or may not be, depending on certain processes that have yet to be fully worked out. Another source states that Earth will indeed be engulfed by the sun during the tip of the red-giant branch phase, 7.59 billion years from now.
After the red-giant branch, the sun will have approximately 120 million years of active life left. It will then expel its outer layers and contract into a white dwarf, which will slowly cool and fade away to lower and lower temperatures. The sun will live as a white dwarf for trillions of years before finally fading away entirely, leaving the solar system in pitch-black darkness.
In summary, while the sun has about 5-7 billion years left before it runs out of hydrogen fuel, life on Earth may become uninhabitable much sooner—as early as 1 billion years from now due to the sun becoming hot enough to boil the oceans.
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Frequently asked questions
The sun has enough hydrogen fuel for another 5 billion years.
When the sun runs out of fuel, it will begin to die. It will grow in size and become a "red giant", swallowing Mercury, Venus, and Earth. It may even grow to overtake more planets.
After the sun's death, it will lose many of its outer layers and eventually shrink to become a "white dwarf". White dwarf stars are still very hot, but not nearly as hot as the sun is now.
The sun's death will likely kill off life on Earth, but it may also create habitable worlds in what are currently the coldest reaches of the solar system. Humans may find refuge on Pluto and other distant dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt.
