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