NASA scientists use supercomputer to find out exactly when life on Earth will end

NASA scientists and researchers from the University of Tokyo have used supercomputers to find out exactly when life on Earth will end.

NASA scientists use supercomputer to find out exactly when life on Earth will end
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TL;DR: Researchers from the University of Tokyo and NASA used supercomputers to predict Earth’s habitability will end around 1 billion years from now due to increasing solar heat. The Sun’s expansion into a red giant will likely engulf or destroy Earth, marking a gradual but inevitable extinction of life on the planet.

Researchers from Japan's University of Toho, along with NASA scientists, have used the power of supercomputers to discover exactly when life on Earth will be wiped out.

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A study published in Nature Geoscience details the process of Earth eventually being suffocated in continuous increases in heat from the Sun, pushing the climate on the surface of our planet beyond what is sustainable for life to exist. Using supercomputers, the NASA scientists, along with researchers from the University of Tokyo, plugged in climate change and solar radiation models to map out how long it would take for the Sun to push Earth to the brink of extinction.

According to the results, Earth being inhabitable won't happen overnight; it will actually be a very slow and gradual process that will occur over millions of years, with the number that the researchers landed on for when life on planet Earth is no longer possible - year 1,000,002,021. Don't worry, it's not your lifetime, but if humans are still around in 1 billion years, this will be something they have to contend with as it's an inevitability due to the Sun itself having a lifespan. When the run reaches its end of life, it will expand dramatically, swallowing whatever is near it, which could possibly be Earth.

This happens when a star reaches its Red Giant Phase, which comes with several complications for Earth, listed below. Luckily, that Red Giant / White Dwarf phase is approximately 5 billion years away.

Red Giant Phase (~5 billion years from now)

  • The Sun will run out of hydrogen in its core and start fusing helium.
  • This causes it to expand massively-potentially out to the current orbit of Earth, or even beyond.
  • In this red giant phase, the Sun's outer layers will become so large and diffuse that Earth could be engulfed or burned to a cinder even if it's not swallowed completely.

Tidal & Drag Effects

  • As the Sun expands, it loses mass, and Earth's orbit might drift outward.
  • But tidal forces and solar drag (interaction with the Sun's extended atmosphere) might pull Earth inward at the same time.
  • Most models suggest Earth will be consumed or destroyed during this process.

End Game: White Dwarf

  • Eventually, the Sun will shed its outer layers and shrink into a white dwarf-a dense, hot remnant.