alxfamlaw Posted February 14, 2005 Report Posted February 14, 2005 I have seen this on several sites and wonder if it is true, and if so, what does it mean for us on earth?
maddog Posted February 16, 2005 Report Posted February 16, 2005 I have seen this on several sites and wonder if it is true, and if so, what does it mean for us on earth?Were this true, we would be in deep trouble. A typical G2 star like this sun in Red Giant phase would extendout to just past the orbit of Mars. Titan could then become a temprate climate of methane and ammonia.Actually, recent estimates for the sun is somewhere in the neighborhood of about 3 or more billion years orso... :( Of course not all is known of what else can make the sun unstable than running out of fuel (H). Ifyou can find it there was a show on the Science channel where the actor Neil (I forget?) did a great serieson the future of the sun and planets. :( :( Maddog
dagaz Posted February 16, 2005 Report Posted February 16, 2005 The sun is generally considered to be about halfway through its stage as a Yellow Dwarf, main sequence star, which means we have roughly five billion years until we have to worry about it turning into a Red Giant.
Tormod Posted February 16, 2005 Report Posted February 16, 2005 I think the estimated age of the Sun is about 10 billion years in total. It is now around 4,6 billion years (the same as the Earth). It will eventually start to shine brighter, perhaps as soon as a billion years or two, and thensubsequently start growing, but this is a slow process that will take a very long time. It probably won't become a red giant for another 6 billion years or so, but Earth would be uninhabitable long before that time. Here is a simple overview which was used for a university lecture:http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Lectures/vistas97.html It is outdated now and may be inncorrect, though.
Evanescence Posted February 20, 2005 Report Posted February 20, 2005 There's a great series on Discovery Science called 'Solar Empire' which includes some stuff on the future of the solar system. I recorded some of them, it's a shame that I missed the first few episodes... Here's some links for you: http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae276.cfmhttp://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/missions/sts-103/hubble/archive/960117.htmlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/881342.stmhttp://www.obspm.fr/actual/nouvelle/sep04/mira.en.shtml
maddog Posted February 20, 2005 Report Posted February 20, 2005 There's a great series on Discovery Science called 'Solar Empire' which includes some stuff on the future of the solar system.I think that was the show I was talking about. It had some neat simulation of whatwould happen. The important when to address this thread is > 3 billion as Isaid (or 5 billion as Tormod said) years from now. Not that anyone one of us would bearound in either way. No need to worry... :o Maddog
Recommended Posts