\u201cObservations of Sun-like giant stars currently point towards Earth\u2019s survival,\u201d head author Mats Esseldeurs, a researcher at the Institute of Astronomy of KU Leuven in Belgium, said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n He and other international researchers were studying the effects of our solar system\u2019s star\u2019s demise, which is projected to occur 5 billion years from now when it will run out of hydrogen to fuse its core and subsequently expand to hundreds of time its size.<\/a> <\/p>\n Specifically, the solar system\u2019s light source will transform into a red giant star, then an even bigger \u201cAGB Star,\u201d before finally perishing as a white dwarf \u2014 the ember-like core that\u2019s left behind after a star dies.<\/p>\n These interstellar death throes will result in a thermonuclear inferno that\u2019s projected to consume Mercury, Venus, and the Earth.<\/p>\n However, after studying stellar evolution models and a nearby dying star named L2 Puppis \u2014 which offers a potential snapshot of the sun\u2019s future \u2014 the team concluded that our planet might not go out in a blaze of glory.<\/p>\n When the sun balloons up, the ensuing gravitational tidal forces will suck Earth in, according to the more apocalyptic projection. <\/p>\n The alternate scenario, per the models, is that the stellar wind could causes our star to rapidly shed mass, whereupon its hold on us will weaken and allow Earth to flee into the galaxy before getting swallowed.<\/p>\n The outcome hinges on how fast the sun loses mass.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fate of Earth depends on a delicate balance between these two effects,\u201d\u00a0said Esseldeurs. \u201cIf tidal interactions dominate, Earth is engulfed. If mass loss dominates, Earth escapes to a wider orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n As the rate of mass loss for aging stars remains unclear, the team needs \u201cbetter observations\u201d before they can be certain of what will happen to Earth post-sunburst, he said.<\/p>\n The bad news is that, in either case, the human race is not making it out alive. <\/p>\n![\"Earth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/earth-space-one-part-burns-132915858.jpg\")
The Earth might escape the fiery fate that will befall Mercury and Venus, the scientists claim. SkyLine \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/schematic-illustration-showing-late-stages-132915527.jpg\")
A schematic illustration showing the late stages of the sun, approximately 5 billion years from now, as it exhausts the hydrogen supply in its core and expands to potentially hundreds of times its current size. KU Leuven<\/p>\n