The sun will not die as a result of an explosion - it will change gradually until it is destroyed. We have compiled a description of this process into a fascinating collection.
Rising Earth Surface Temperature
In about 1.1 billion years, the sun will begin to change. As the hydrogen fuel in the core will be used up, combustion will occur mainly at the surface, which will cause the star to shine much brighter, and the increased radiation will have a devastating effect on our planet.
The average temperature of the Earth's surface will rise to about 75 ° C. The oceans will evaporate and the planet will become a lifeless desert.
All hydrogen is converted to helium
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When the sun uses all of its hydrogen to create energy, it will convert it to helium, and eventually, the helium will become much larger. Helium is an unstable element, so it will begin to break down. The core of the Sun will become even denser and hotter, the star will increase in volume by one and a half times and become twice as bright as it is now.
Over the next 700 million years, it will continue to grow, and after that it will cool down a little. From the desolate surface of the Earth, the Sun will appear like a huge orange ball hanging in a hazy sky.
The sun will lose about 1/4 of its total mass
At the age of about 1.2 billion years, the Sun will lose about a quarter of its mass, and then the orbits of the planets will change: Venus will be in approximately the same orbit where the Earth is now, and the Earth itself will move even further.
The sun will turn into a red giant
Eventually, the Sun will turn into a red giant - it will increase by about 166 times, and its "crown" will reach the place where the Earth's orbit used to be. Mercury and Venus by this moment will already be absorbed by the star. On Earth, mountains will melt and flow, and colossal incandescent streams and seas of lava will form. A huge red sun will eclipse half of the sky.
Life will begin on other planets
Although the "inner" planets will inevitably perish, life can arise on distant worlds. For example, the ice of Jupiter's moon Europa will melt, and Pluto will finally have enough sunlight and heat.
Destruction of carbon and oxygen
When the sun reaches its maximum size, its core will heat up to a temperature of 100 million ° C, and this will cause the synthesis of helium. Helium atoms will begin to disintegrate, a colossal amount of energy will be released. The sun will again begin to decrease in size, although it will never reach the original one. This will continue for the next 110 million years. After that, as a result of a nuclear reaction, new elements will appear - oxygen and carbon. When enough of them accumulate in the core of the Sun, it will double in size again. Finally, a helium core will remain again, carbon and oxygen will be destroyed, but there will be enough energy to start the death itself.
All inner planets will disappear
The sun will steadily increase in size until there is no more helium and hydrogen left. It will become 180 times larger and thousands of times brighter than it is now. A huge amount of matter will be thrown into space, and almost half of the mass will be lost. The inner planets by then will be nothing more than a memory.
Only the core will remain from the Sun
The thin shell of the remaining helium surrounding the carbon-oxygen core will be unstable, and the Sun will begin to pulsate, losing more and more mass with each pulse, until only the core remains - a sphere about the size of the Earth. It will be very hot, but it is just residual heat. The kernel will get colder until it cools down completely.
