Is there a 'Future Earth'?

Illustrative image

KMT-2020-BLG-0414, located 4,000 light-years from Earth, is a rocky planet orbiting a white dwarf – the remnants of a star. It is predicted that our Sun will also become a white dwarf in about 5 billion years.

Before reaching that stage, the Sun will become a red giant, engulfing Mercury, Venus, and possibly even Earth and Mars.

If Earth is lucky enough to escape this fate, it may end up like the newly discovered planet mentioned above, gradually drifting further away from the cooling remnants of the Sun.

Dr. Keming Zhang, an astronomer at the University of California San Diego and lead author of the study, said: "Currently, we have no consensus on whether Earth can avoid being swallowed by the Sun in 6 billion years."

In any case, Earth can only sustain life for about another billion years, when the oceans will evaporate due to the out-of-control greenhouse effect – long before it risks being swallowed by a red giant star.

This discovery opens up many possibilities for speculation about the distant future of humanity.

Although it is not yet known whether life can survive past the red giant phase, Dr. Zhang has hypothesized that humans could migrate to icy moons like Europa and Enceladus, which orbit Jupiter and Saturn.

These icy worlds will become ocean planets in the final years of the Sun's life.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-mot-trai-dat-o-tuong-lai-20240928085054497.htm