Astronomers Say Dying Sun Will Engulf Earth

iamlucky13 writes "A minor academic debate among astronomers is the final fate of the earth. As the sun ages and enters the red giant stage of its life, it will heat up, making the earth inhospitable. It will also expand, driven by helium fusion so that its outer layers reach past the earth's current orbit. Previously it had been believed that the sun would lose enough mass to allow earth to escape to a more distant orbit, lifeless but intact. However, new calculations, which take into account tidal forces and drag from mass shed by the sun, suggest that the earth will have sufficiently slowed in that time to be dragged down to its utter destruction in 7.6 billion years. "

Comments

Armageddon

[gummyb34r]

In 7.6 bln years time frame there is a 99.9 probability of a massive object hitting Earth and melting the outermost solid shell.

Re:Seems easy enough.

[AKAImBatman]

Actually, jd is quite correct. Scientists have already been working out methods of moving the Earth should a climatic event threaten the livelihood of the human race. The Earth may be big, but there are no forces that prevent it from moving. Intentionally toss a few rocks past it, and the gravitational pull will slowly accelerate the Earth out of its current orbit.

Despite the fact that we only have 7.6 billion years to get the computations correct, I have a feeling that we'll be able to get it done right by then. (Either that or evacuate our Dyson Sphere. Whichever comes first.)