What will happen to Earth in 8 billion years if it is not swallowed by the Sun? The answer may be in the image of a distant planet recently discovered by astronomers.
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| Found "Earth of the future" 4,000 light years away. Illustration photo. (Source: studyfinds.org) |
KMT-2020-BLG-0414, located 4,000 light-years from Earth, is a rocky planet orbiting a white dwarf - the remnant of a star. Our Sun is expected to turn into a white dwarf in 5 billion years.
Before that time, the Sun will become a red giant, engulfing Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth and Mars.
If it is lucky enough to escape this fate, Earth may end up like the newly discovered planet mentioned above, gradually drifting further away from the cold remnants of the Sun.
"There is currently no consensus on whether Earth can avoid being swallowed by the Sun in 6 billion years," said Dr Keming Zhang, an astronomer at the University of California San Diego and lead author of the study. "In any case, Earth can only sustain life for about 1 billion years, when the oceans will evaporate due to the runaway greenhouse effect - long before it is at risk of being swallowed by a red giant."
The discovery opens up a lot of speculation about humanity’s distant future. While it’s not yet known whether life can survive the red giant phase, Dr Zhang has hypothesized that humans could migrate to icy moons like Europa and Enceladus, which orbit Jupiter and Saturn. These icy worlds will become ocean planets in the final years of the Sun’s life.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/gioi-khoa-hoc-tim-thay-trai-dat-cua-tuong-lai-cach-4000-nam-anh-sang-288080.html
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