Earth Death

The phrase "Hell on Earth" is widely known among religious communities, figuratively meaning a place of torment or turmoil. However, Earth may see a literal meaning of that expression, delivered from our own Sun!

The Sun? The very sun that gives Earth energy and supports almost all life on this planet? This much is true, but what is really known about that ball of light in the sky? Its very existence has been known for centuries, even being worshipped as a deity. Before our ancestors made calendars to accurately keep dates, known as sun dials, and before they were kneeling before it, the Sun has been here for billions of years.

The Sun formed in our Solar System approximately 4.5 billion years ago, from collapsed matter in deep space. It is suggested the formation of our Sun may have been brought about from shockwaves of a supernova. Since its conception, the Sun hasn't undergone any changes for billions of years. However it is known by many astrophysicists that once its hydrogen fuel is exhausted, it will inevitably swell enough to completely swallow its planets closest to it, which is Mercury, Venus, and our Earth.

Stellar evidence points out that stars burn brighter as they age. The Sun, being no exception will also burn brighter, as its hydrogen fuses into helium. Since the Sun doesn't have enough mass to explode as a supernova, it will enter what is known as the "red giant phase". It will expand and swell, becoming thousands of times larger than it currently is. And its luminosity will be a couple thousand times stronger, enough to dry out our oceans and vaporize Earth.

Again, this fiery end to our planet we won't meet for another 5 to 7 billion years. Nonetheless even before the Sun that we bask in and rely for our tans becomes a red giant, the Sun will have brightened enough that the surface of Earth will be comparable to temperatures currently on Venus. Every day the Sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the luminosity of the Sun is increasing by 10 percent every 1 billion years. It is then expected by another billion years, Earth's water will evaporate and escape into space, resulting in mass extinctions of all terrestrial life, including mankind.

It is estimated as the luminosity of the Sun increases, it will only take about 800 million years for the Earth to be negatively impacted. Globally, the water will evaporate. Oceans, lakes and eventually the North and South Poles will be drained. The land will gradually harden into a rocky mass, ultimately ceasing plate tectonics.

As the carbon dioxide levels drop from Earth's atmosphere, plant life will die, as well as the living creatures that depend on it for food. After the Sun has wiped out all signs of life from the planet, and the atmosphere has diminished, it will begin its phase as a red giant, expanding further and swallowing Mercury and Venus. The Earth is not expected to survive scorching of this degree or to escape the ultimate engulfing of the Sun.

Approximately 500,000 years later the Sun will have burned out half of its mass, and it will gradually cool into the phase of "white dwarf". This phase is known to last for trillions of years. It is also known that the nearby Andromeda galaxy is colliding with our Milky Way. As it is expected to collide and merge with us within 4 billion years, it is suggested it will have little effect on our galaxy.

Everything must come to an end. Even if that is something that has been here since practically the beginning of time. We may not look at our world or Solar System differently. But I believe brilliant things come to an end. I look into the night sky, and I stare at the stars. Life is so much more than what we make it, there's an endless plethora of galaxies and celestial objects out there! This is our home, and we should see the bigger picture for what it really is.