Although more massive stars can begin another shell of fusing heavier elements when this helium is exhausted, the sun is too feeble to generate the pressure needed to begin that layer of fusion, Scudder explained. So when the sun's helium dries up, it's pretty much all downhill from there.
From red giant to white dwarf
Once the sun has emptied its fuel reserves, it will become unstable and start to pulse.
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ZombieDarwin 7 year s ago
"This is how Earth is going to Parish", eh? Well, there will be a lot of praying involved.
"And it doesn't end there. A 10% increase in brightness every billion years means that 3.5 billion years from today, the sun will shine almost 40% brighter, which will boil Earth's oceans, melt its ice caps, and strip all of the moisture from its atmosphere."
[panicked voice from the back of the room]: How long did you say?
3.5 billion years
[same voice, noticeably calmer]: Oh, I thought you said 3.5 * million * years!
"And it doesn't end there. A 10% increase in brightness every billion years means that 3.5 billion years from today, the sun will shine almost 40% brighter, which will boil Earth's oceans, melt its ice caps, and strip all of the moisture from its atmosphere."
[panicked voice from the back of the room]: How long did you say?
3.5 billion years
[same voice, noticeably calmer]: Oh, I thought you said 3.5 * million * years!
"And it doesn't end there. A 10% increase in brightness every billion years means that 3.5 billion years from today, the sun will shine almost 40% brighter, which will boil Earth's oceans, melt its ice caps, and strip all of the moisture from its atmosphere."
[panicked voice from the back of the room]: How long did you say?
3.5 billion years
[same voice, noticeably calmer]: Oh, I thought you said 3.5 * million * years!