American astronomers have announced the date when the Earth will be destroyed.
Modern.az reports that by observing how sun-like stars change in the final stages of their lives, they can form an idea about the processes after 5 billion years and the fate of the Sun.
Within the framework of this process, the planetary nebula NGC 2392, located in the constellation Gemini, approximately 5 thousand light-years away from Earth, was studied. According to NASA, this object represents the final stage of a sun-like star's life.
For most of their lives, stars generate energy by converting hydrogen into helium in their cores. However, as the hydrogen reserves in the core are depleted, the internal structure of the star changes, and it rapidly expands, entering the red giant phase.
The Sun is also expected to reach this stage in approximately 5 billion years. According to NASA, during that period, the Sun could grow more than 100 times its current size. Mercury and Venus, and most likely Earth, could also be destroyed as a result of this process. The fate of more distant planets is not entirely clear.
