Future of the Sun: How Our Star Will End

The Sun is about 4.6 billion years old—roughly halfway through its 10-billion-year life.
In about 5 billion years, the Sun will exhaust its core hydrogen fuel.
It will expand into a red giant, swelling large enough to engulf Mercury and Venus.
Earth’s oceans will boil away long before the Sun becomes a giant.
The Sun will shed its outer layers, creating a glowing planetary nebula.
Its core will shrink into a white dwarf, about the size of Earth but incredibly dense.
Over trillions of years, that white dwarf will slowly cool into a cold, dark black dwarf.
This fate is common—most stars in the Milky Way will end as white dwarfs.
The Sun’s death will recycle heavy elements into space, fueling new stars and planets.
Humanity may be long gone by then, but the Sun’s legacy will shape future worlds.