The Life Of the SUN

The Sun will eventually grow so large that it will consume Earth.

This will happen when the Sun enters its Red Giant stage. So, where is the Sun today? 

It’s just a tiny speck known as a “Yellow Dwarf.” 

At present, it burns hydrogen into helium — a process that has been ongoing for about 4.6 billion years. But this calm won't last forever. 

In approximately 5 billion years, the Sun will exhaust its hydrogen fuel and begin expanding into a Red Giant, growing so massive that it will likely engulf Mercury, Venus — and Earth.

As it swells, the Sun’s outer layers will cool and redden, but its core will contract and heat up, igniting new fusion reactions. Eventually, the Sun will shed its outer layers, forming a stunning planetary nebula. What remains will be a dense, Earth-sized White Dwarf — the Sun’s final act. 

This stellar life cycle isn’t just about cosmic drama; understanding it gives scientists insight into the fate of solar systems, the future of Earth, and the life cycles of stars across the universe.

Source: Schröder, K.-P., & Smith, R. C. (2008). Distant future of the Sun and Earth revisited. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 386(1), 155–163

Here is a visual guide to the life of our Sun.