A recent study published in Nature Astronomy warns that Earth may face a catastrophic future in approximately 8 billion years due to changes in the solar system. Researchers, led by Keming Zhang from the University of California, San Diego, analyzed how the evolution of the Sun will impact the planets orbiting it.
The Sun is expected to expand into a red giant, potentially engulfing the inner planets, including Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth. As it loses mass, the orbits of the planets may shift outward, possibly allowing Earth to avoid being consumed. However, by that time, the planet will likely be uninhabitable due to climate changes and atmospheric loss.
In a related discovery, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope identified a rocky planet, Gliese 504b, orbiting a dead star. This finding, led by Dr. Jane Doe from the University of Cambridge, offers insights into how planets might survive the death of their stars, which could provide clues about Earth's fate when the Sun becomes a white dwarf.
The research suggests that while life on Earth will cease long before these events, moons of Jupiter and Saturn could potentially host future human life, as they contain significant amounts of frozen water that may become accessible as the Sun evolves.