From the Hubble telescope’s images of planetary nebulae comes the idea of how the sun will eventually look when it expires five billion years hence. Once it has exhausted its reserves of hydrogen that feeds a continuous process of nuclear fusion, the sun will become just like any of the nebulae the most beautiful of which is known as the ‘Cat’s Eye.’

The Hubble Space Telescope took a sequence of images whose breathtaking patterns and colors actually tell the tragedy of the death of a cosmic body that once shone in the dark cosmos.

When a star ends its life, it becomes a red giant that is streaming of gas and dust. The case of the sun (which has a mass that is 330 thousand times that of Earth) is not too far different. The images analyzed by scientists show the various steps of the phenomenon. The dissemination of material in the universe becomes a fresh supply of chemical elements that will incorporate into future generations of stars.

The sun is about 4.5 billion years old. It has used up approximately half of its nuclear fuel (hydrogen). It is also 1/3 of the way through its expected life.

In the next 1.1 billion years, the sun’s brightness will increase by 10%. This is a proven stage in the life and death of a star. The sun’s intensified brightness by then will sharply increase temperatures enough to scorch planet earth. This severe greenhouse effect is the ultimate in climate change and global warming. At this juncture, all of the oceans on earth will boil. All living things will be destroyed.

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Via Science Daily