What will happen to the Earth when the Sun becomes a red giant?

The Sun will expand to become a red giant star, more than 100 times its current size, and this will likely destroy the Earth either by swallowing it or tearing it apart due to powerful tidal forces.

How long do scientists predict it will take for the Sun to become a red giant?

According to the study, the Sun is expected to become a red giant in about 5 billion years, at which point it will start expanding and engulfing the inner planets.

Home / Science / Humanity's Fate Sealed as Sun Set to Swallow Earth in 5 Billion Years

Humanity's Fate Sealed as Sun Set to Swallow Earth in 5 Billion Years

Q: What did the researchers find when studying stars that had already become red giants?

The researchers found that stars that had already expanded and cooled into red giants were much less likely to host large, close-orbiting planets, suggesting these planets had been destroyed by the star's expansion.

10 Nov

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Summary

Earth to be swallowed or torn apart by expanding sun in 5 billion years
Tidal forces will cause planet to spiral into star as it becomes red giant
Researchers studied 15,000 stars, found most lose large, close-orbiting planets

Humanity's Fate Sealed as Sun Set to Swallow Earth in 5 Billion Years

According to a study published in 2025, scientists have revealed a grim future for humanity as they warn that Earth will eventually be swallowed by the sun. Researchers from the University College London and the University of Warwick predict that in roughly 5 billion years, our star will burn the last of its hydrogen fuel and begin expanding into a monstrous red giant.

When this happens, the powerful gravitational effects known as 'tidal forces' will cause the planet to spiral inwards until it either breaks apart or falls into the star. Even if Earth somehow survives our sun's transformation, the researchers say life on the planet will not. The intense heat and radiation from the expanding sun will strip Earth of its atmosphere and boil away the oceans, making the planet uninhabitable.

The scientists came to this terrifying conclusion after studying nearly half a million stars that had just entered the 'post-main sequence' stage of their lives. They found that stars that had already expanded and cooled into red giants were much less likely to host large, close-orbiting planets, suggesting these had been destroyed by the star's expansion.

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