An international team of astronomers has proven that in the final stages of its existence, the Sun is likely to turn into a planetary nebula. Although this option for the destruction of the star was proposed earlier, some experts assumed that in order to shed the outer shell, the star must be twice as massive. This is reported by Science Alert.
The results of computer simulations have confirmed that the life of the Sun and 90 percent of other stars will end in a planetary nebula, and the exposed core will become a white dwarf. This stage will last 10 thousand years, when the dwarf will illuminate the nebula, making it visible. After that, the core will begin to cool down, and its brightness will decrease. After tens of billions of years, a black dwarf will appear that will not emit visible light.
A planetary nebula is an object consisting of a shell of gas and a white dwarf. They are formed when the red giants, into which the main sequence stars turn over time, shed their outer shells. According to calculations, the Sun will become a red giant in about five billion years, an expanding star will reach the orbit of the Earth or Mars.
