How Will the Sun Die?

Introduction

      BREAKING NEWS.... the sun is going to die!

      But you still have some time. Actually, you still have about 5 billion years. So while you're waiting, stick around and learn about how the sun will die.

What Is the Sun? 

     The sun is a giant ball. It is super hot and made up mostly of hydrogen. Gravity creates energy by squeezing it and that's what makes the sun shine. 

When Will the Sun Die? 

     If you've ever wondered about the sun dying, don't worry. The sun has about 5 billion years of life left. The sun is only at the halfway point of its 10 billion year life. 

     But the sun won't last forever just like all stars. The sun will eventually run out of hydrogen in about 5 billion years. It's just like when an engine runs out of gas, except you can't refill it. 

Hydrogen and Helium 

     The hydrogen in the sun will eventually run out, but while the sun is using up the hydrogen, it is making helium. Then the helium will run out, so the sun will continue to keep using up bigger elements until they run out, too. 

      When the hydrogen, helium and other elements run out, the sun will start to turn into a red giant and engulf Mercury, Venus, and maybe even Earth. These are the three inner planets closest to the sun. 

A Dying Star 

     As the sun is dying, first the hydrogen will run out. Once this happens it will still take the sun about 2 to 3 billion years to finish dying. 

     As it's starting to die, the yellow dwarf sun will get bigger and swallow the inner planets Mercury and Venus. Earth might get swallowed too, or else turn lifeless because of the extreme heat of the red giant. 

Red Giant 

     A star like the sun grows into a red giant when it's about to die. If a star has planets like our sun, it can swallow the planets when it becomes a red giant.   

     The sun could possibly even swallow other planets past the Earth such as Mars when the sun becomes a red giant. Even if a planet survives, it will be changed because of the extreme heat, radiation, and powerful gravity of the red giant sun. 

White Dwarf 

     Next, the sun is going to shrink to a very weird star called a white dwarf. A white dwarf is still super hot, but not too bright. 

     It's now near the end of its lifetime. When the sun changes into a white dwarf, it will lose its outer layers and shrink. White dwarfs are not as hot as our sun. 

Black Dwarf

     The white dwarf will fade and become a "black dwarf". When the dying sun is a black dwarf it will not put off any light or energy. The surviving parts of our solar system will become a cold, dark place without the light, life, and energy of the sun.

Author's note

     I got inspired to do this project because I love space and I love the sun. So that inspired me and I hope the cool facts I discovered inspire you, too.