Space - When Will The Sun Die?

When will the sun die?

The sun is about 4.5 billion years old and it is estimated to still possess a 5-billion year supply of hydrogen (hydrogen is the fuel that drives nuclear fusion on the sun). Therefore, it is predicted that our sun will die in approximately 5 billion years.

Once the sun has converted all its hydrogen into helium, the sun will change from its current form, a yellow dwarf, into a red giant. As a red giant, its diameter will extend well beyond the orbit of Venus, and even possibly beyond the orbit of Earth. When the sun enters the red giant phase, in which it will spend the final 10 percent of its lifetime, the Earth will be burned to a cinder.

Sources: Pasachoff, Jay M. Contemporary Astronomy, pp. 205-6; The Universal Almanac 1992, pp. 482-83.

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