The prospect of the Sun devouring the Earth after 5 billion years

Scientists predict the scenario when the Sun swells into a red giant star thanks to a new image from the telescope.

Astronomers obtained new images of a massive red star, which has a mass like the Sun, thanks to the Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile, thereby understanding what happens to Solar system in the future, Business Insider yesterday reported.

The orbit of the Earth and some other planets around the Sun.(Photo: Business Insider).

Five billion years from now, the Sun will swell and turn into one, swallowing most of the inner planets of the system. Exotic planets and moons will also be strongly affected by this process.

New images from the telescope show that another red star had an initial mass like the Sun but now swells when it enters the second half of its life cycle.

This red star is named W Hydrae , 320 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation of the Serpent. Its radius is now twice as large as the current distance between the Earth and the Sun. That is also what can happen to the Sun in the distant future.

Such stars will swell when "old" , lose weight due to the stellar wind and cool down about 50%. This means that if a planet in the solar system is not swallowed, it will also become an extremely cold and radiant barren land.

Why W Hydrae in the universe.(Photo: Business Insider).

Giant red stars also release many elements into the universe. They can then regroup by gathering gas and energy to form new stars. Red giants also release materials that may be essential to create the right conditions for life in other planets and moons.

In addition to learning more about when the Sun is about to die , scientists also studied red stars to know their role in forming stars or planetary systems.