Scientists Warn Earth Will Be Swallowed By The Sun In 5 Billion Years

Credit: Pixabay

The topic of the end of the world has been debated for many years, and some rejected conspiracy theories have nevertheless persisted in the public eye.

The truth, however, is significantly different from such theories, as a recent tragedy has shown what may occur if the world were to end.

This is so that scientists might have a unique first glimpse at a planet being devoured by a star.

Credit: International Gemini Observatory

Scientists have previously only observed stars shortly before or after they devour entire planets, but this new discovery has changed all of that.

What is the science behind all of this, then?

Well, stars grow to a million times their original size near the end of their lives, which gives them a lot of power.

In fact, when stars reach this stage, they begin to consume any planets or other nearby objects.

This recently occurred in our galaxy, making it simpler for scientists to monitor and collect data.

Scientists estimate that it took place at a distance of 12,000 lightyears and that scientists observed the star as it gradually became around 100 times brighter than usual over the course of ten days before eventually fading out.

Then, as the planet was being swallowed by the massive star, astronomers discovered a cold, more persistent signal that reached Earth.

"We were seeing the end-stage of the swallowing," lead author Kishalay De of MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research said.

The star's mass ranges from 0.8 to 1.5 times that of the Sun, and scientists estimate that the planet's mass ranged from one to ten times that of Jupiter.

A large portion of the matter the star consumes gets spit out into the universe, where it may one day be used to create new stars and planets.

While the Sun and Earth are predicted to meet the same end, that poor planet's fate is already sealed, according to scientists.

But that probably won't happen for another five billion years.

Dr. De added: "We are seeing the future of the Earth. If some other civilization was observing us from 10,000 light-years away while the sun was engulfing the Earth, they would see the sun suddenly brighten as it ejects some material, then form dust around it, before settling back to what it was."

'For decades, we've been able to see the before and after,' De said. 

'Before, when the planets are still orbiting very close to their star, and after, when a planet has already been engulfed, and the star is giant.'

'What we were missing was catching the star in the act, where you have a planet undergoing this fate in real-time. That's what makes this discovery really exciting.'