Science reveals fate of Earth after our sun dies

Science reveals fate of Earth after our sun dies examines what could happen to planets when the Sun reaches the end of its life. Researchers from the University of St Andrews, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, observed the Jupiter-sized exoplanet WD 1856 b transiting a “dead” white dwarf host star. The system lies about 80 light-years from Earth, and the planet was originally discovered in 2020 by TESS and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Webb measured the planet’s mass and temperature and detected atmospheric signatures, finding it “significantly warmer” than expected. The study links the Sun’s evolution—about 5 billion years from now—when it swells into a red giant more than 100 times its current size and becomes a white dwarf. The paper, published in Nature, suggests Mercury, Venus and possibly Earth would be destroyed, while the fate of more distant planets, especially gas giants, remains unclear.