EntranceWill the Sun destroy the Earth much sooner than we think? (9 photos). Dangers to planet earth emanating from the sun What are solar flares
Wandering stars, gamma-ray bursts, the proximity of a supernova are cosmic disasters that could destroy the Earth in the future.
What poses the greatest threat to human existence? If you ask yourself this, three possible answers will likely come to mind. Firstly, the threat of nuclear war (due to the difficult political situation), secondly, global warming (scientists’ forecasts regarding Earth’s climate change are becoming darker and darker), and thirdly, the threat of a large-scale devastating pandemic (we are told more and more often about outbreaks of dangerous diseases caused by new viruses for which there are no vaccines or drugs).
Let's assume we can overcome these problems. But will we continue to be safe? Life on our little blue planet seems safe to us until we are aware of the real threats lurking in cold space. We bring to your attention six scenarios of space disasters that could pose a serious danger to humanity.
1. High-energy solar flare
The sun is not such a harmless star. Yes, the luminary gives us a certain dose of energy, thanks to which life is supported on our planet, but as soon as the Sun increases this dose, all living things will die.
Our Sun is a hot gas ball of enormous size. The ball rotates around its axis, but not in the same way as the planets do. The speed of rotation of parts of the Sun is different. The equator moves faster and the poles move slower. The star's magnetic field twists in a special way along with the plasma and intensifies. Then this field begins to rise unevenly to the surface of the Sun. In places of rises it increases solar Activity, and outbreaks occur.
During flares, the level of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation from the Sun increases, and the star emits streams of high-energy charged particles. Driven by the solar wind, these particles reach the Earth in just a few hours and cause geomagnetic storms, which have a strong impact on the planet. Although the Earth is protected by the magnetosphere, flares can disable satellites (if they are located above 1000 km) and affect radio communications.
Some scientists argue that there is a high probability that a powerful flare will one day occur on the Sun, which will lead to a global catastrophe. Others say this won't happen. According to them, the most powerful flares have energy equivalent to the explosion of a nuclear bomb (25 billion mt). Flares of such intensity can only disrupt radio communications and power supplies.
However, people have not yet learned to predict the occurrence of solar flares.
2. Asteroid
Over the past ten years, thanks to centers for observing near-Earth objects (there are only three of them: in the USA, Hawaii and Italy), astronomers have discovered asteroids that threaten our planet. Experts constantly monitor these cosmic bodies and can warn humanity about the impending danger 5 days in advance (previously they could do this only a few hours before the collision).
Scientists are already developing special systems that can protect us from collisions with small “space rocks.” But it is unlikely that these systems will protect us from very large objects that may not destroy planet Earth, but put an end to the existence of humanity, causing fires, huge tsunamis and other natural disasters.
For example, there is a possibility that (diameter 510 meters) flying towards the Earth at a speed of 101 km/h could collide with our planet in 2175.
3. Expansion of the Sun
Scientists predict that the Sun will die in 7.72 billion years. But “deadly” processes will begin to occur with the star much earlier (2-3 billion years).
The outer shell of the Sun will expand, the hydrogen fuel in its core will burn out, and the core itself will shrink and heat up to a temperature of about 200-300 million degrees. At this temperature, a thermonuclear reaction will occur to synthesize carbon and oxygen from helium. Temperature instabilities inside the star will lead to the following:
1 The Sun will lose mass, causing gravity to change and the planets to change their orbits;
2 then the star will sharply increase (166 times). It will turn into a red giant;
3 then the Sun will again decrease in size;
4 will “swell” again. The remains of helium, carbon, oxygen will “burn out”, and the Sun will die.
All that will remain of the Sun is a bare core, the size of the Earth. The core will be hot, but will gradually cool down and turn into a piece of cold stone.
During the time the star decreases and increases, a real apocalypse will have time to occur in the solar system. Mercury and Venus will be consumed by the giant's flames, the Earth will turn into a desert due to high temperatures, oceans, rivers and lakes will boil, mountains will split, and... the planet will burn to the ground.
4. Gamma-ray burst
A gamma-ray burst is a powerful burst of energy that can be caused by a binary star system or the merger of neutron stars and black holes. These bursts are so powerful that they could easily destroy the Earth's ozone layer, leaving our planet's surface vulnerable to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. All living things will be destroyed, only underwater inhabitants living at a depth of more than 10 meters will be able to escape (UV radiation does not pass below a depth of 10 meters, it is absorbed by the water layer).
In April 1998, astronomers discovered the double star system WR 104. According to scientists, this system could be the source of such a gamma-ray burst. The Earth is located about 8,000 light years from WR 104, which means we are in the affected area. Will there ever be an explosion in WR 104? We can only guess.
5. Supernova proximity
A supernova explosion (the end of a star's life) in the Milky Way occurs 2-3 times every 100 years. When a star dies, an explosion occurs and enormous energy is released from the outer shell of the star into space. This energy, in the form of cosmic rays, can destroy the ozone layer and destroy all life on Earth.
The life of the red supergiant star Betelgeuse is coming to an end. It is located in the constellation Orion, approximately 400-600 light years away. When Betelgeuse goes supernova, will the energy released from the explosion reach Earth? According to scientists (but they may be wrong), in order for cosmic rays from a supernova to reach a planet, the epicenter of the explosion must be 50 light years away.
6. Collision with a star
According to scientists, there is a possibility that in 240,000 years the Earth may collide with one of the stars in the system. hip85065. This object is located in the constellation Hercules at a distance of 16 light years from our planet.
In the future, the star from hip85065 could come within just 0.04 parsecs of the Sun (that's about 9,000 times the distance between the Sun and Earth).
Even if the stars are separated from each other, and the planets solar system will not be subject to gravitational disturbance, the Earth will still get it. The star from hip85065 will move through the Oort cloud - the “home” of many comets, asteroids and even planets. When passing through the cloud, the star will throw a huge number of objects into the solar system, some of which will collide with the Earth, which will lead to the inevitable death of all life.
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Most people, if asked about the greatest threat to human existence, would probably think of nuclear war, global warming or a large-scale pandemic disease. But assuming we are free of these problems, will we be safe? Life on our blue planet seems safe until we know what is hiding in the depths of space. Below you will find space disasters that are included in the list of possible threats that are ready to greatly harm humanity or destroy it forever. Happy reading!
High energy solar flare
Our sun is not such a peaceful star as we are accustomed to believe. It creates powerful magnetic fields that form impressive sunspots many times larger than Earth. It can also emit a stream of particles and radiation - the solar wind. Contained magnetic field Earth, this wind forms a beautiful aurora. But when it becomes more powerful, it can interfere with radio communications or cause power outages.
The most powerful magnetic solar storm on Earth occurred in 1859. This Carrington incident caused enormous interference in relatively small-scale electronic equipment. Such events could have happened in the past.
But we are only in last years have become completely dependent on electronic equipment. The truth is that we could suffer greatly if we underestimate the danger of a possible Carrington or even more powerful event. While a solar flare may not wipe out humanity, it will present problems. It is no longer possible to imagine our lives without electricity, heating, air conditioning, GPS and the Internet.
Asteroid impact
In principle, we are well aware of how dangerous asteroids can be - after all, one of them marked the beginning of the end for the dinosaurs. The latest research suggests that we should be concerned: these large space rocks could pose a serious threat to us.
Today we are only at the beginning of the research and development of systems that will protect us from small asteroids. But we are completely helpless against larger and rarer space guests. Although they will not necessarily destroy the Earth or make it uninhabitable, they can destroy humanity by causing huge tsunamis, fires and other natural disasters.
Expansion of the sun
If all previous cosmic hazards occur on a roll of the dice, with a certain probability, we know for sure that our sun will “commit suicide” in 7.72 billion years. At this point, it will spit out its outer atmosphere and form a planetary nebula, turning into a remnant star - a “white dwarf”.
But humanity is not destined to experience these final stages. As the Sun ages, it will become cooler and larger. One day it will become a giant star large enough to reach Venus. At this point, the Earth may be safe, but the sun will create a powerful solar wind that slows the Earth down. In 7.59 billion years, our planet will simply melt in the atmosphere of our enormously inflated star.
Gamma-ray burst nearby
Extremely powerful bursts of energy - gamma ray bursts - can be caused by binary systems (where two stars orbit a common center) and supernovae (exploding stars). These bursts of energy are extremely powerful because they concentrate their energy into a narrow beam that lasts no more than a few seconds or minutes. The resulting radiation from one such burst could damage and destroy our ozone layer, leaving life vulnerable to the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Astronomers have discovered a star system - WR 104 - that could host such an event. WR 104 is between 5,200 and 7,500 light years away, which is far enough to keep us safe. And we can only guess when such a surge will occur. Fortunately, there is a chance that the energy beam will not hit us.
Supernovae nearby
Supernovae, which occur when a star reaches the end of its life, occur on average once or twice every 100 years in our Milky Way. Most likely, they are born closer to the dense center of the Milky Way, and we are two-thirds of the way from the center - not so bad.
Can we expect a supernova explosion nearby in the near future? The star Betelgeuse, a red supergiant nearing the end of its life, is located just 460-650 light-years away in the constellation Orion. It could go supernova now or in the next million years. Fortunately, astronomers have calculated that a supernova would have to be at least 50 light-years away to damage our ozone layer. Therefore, this particular supernova should not cause any cause for concern.
Moving Stars
Meanwhile, a wandering star flying through Milky Way, may come so close to our sun that it will interact with the dense “Oort cloud” at the edge of our solar system, which contains many comets. This could lead to a shower of comets heading towards Earth. Another roll of the dice.
The Sun also moves through the Milky Way, passing through more or less dense areas of interstellar gas. We are currently in a less dense bubble created by the supernova. The sun's wind and solar magnetic field form a bubble-like region surrounding our solar system - the heliosphere - that protects us from interaction with the interstellar medium. When we leave this site in 20,000 to 50,000 years (according to our current observations and models), our heliosphere will become less efficient and expose the Earth. Perhaps our climate will change and become more difficult to live in - if not impossible.
But life goes on.
The end of humanity on Earth is inevitable. But this does not mean that we need to hide under the table and tremble in fear. There is no way we can change it, just like our lives have an end and a beginning. This defines us and makes us think that the only thing we can do is spend our time on Earth usefully. Especially when we remember that the Earth needs a very delicate balance to support humanity.
All of the above scenarios of destruction are frightening and surprising at the same time. At the same time, they point us to the future and the meaning of our existence.
Based on materials from hi-news
There are many ways to destroy the Earth. It could collide with another planet, be swallowed by a black hole, or receive fatal blows from asteroids. There is really no way to determine which end scenario will lead to the demise of our planet.
But one thing is certain. Even if our planet can avoid alien invasion, nuclear apocalypse and dodge space rocks, the day will come when the Sun will destroy us. So what will happen to the Earth if the Sun actually dies in the blaze of its glory? And most importantly, it is worth understanding that this day may come much earlier than we all used to think.
The sun survives by burning hydrogen atoms at its core and turning them into helium. In fact, the Sun burns 600 million tons of hydrogen every second. As the solar core becomes saturated with helium, it continues to contract, causing nuclear fusion reactions to speed up. Thus, every billion years during which hydrogen combustion occurs, the Sun becomes brighter by 10%.
And while 10% may seem like a small number, even that much difference could be catastrophic for our planet.
Predicting exactly what will happen to the Earth as the Sun brightens over the next billions of years is difficult. But the general idea is that increasing the amount of heat we get from it will cause more water to evaporate from the surface of the planet. Thus, this water vapor will pass into the atmosphere. The water will become a kind of greenhouse gas that absorbs incoming heat, which will speed up evaporation.
At the same time, high-energy sunlight will bombard our atmosphere, causing water molecules to break apart and escape, just like hydrogen and oxygen. This will lead to what is called dry earth bleeding.
Where it leads
However, our problems will not end there. The increase in the Sun's brightness means that 3.5 billion years from now it will be almost 40% brighter. This will lead to the boiling of the oceans, the melting of the planet's ice caps and the disappearance of moisture from its atmosphere. As a result, the Earth, where life once originated, will become similar to Venus - just as dry and barren. But even after this, the situation will only get worse.
Death rattle of the sun
All good things come to an end sooner or later. One day, about 4 or 5 billion years from now, the Sun will run out of hydrogen that can burn and will start burning helium instead.
After hydrogen stops burning in the core, the Sun will begin to be seen as a red giant. It will be another billion years before the helium in the core expands and burns, just like its shell, where hydrogen is still capable of turning into helium.
As the Sun sheds its outer layers, its mass will begin to decrease, weakening the gravitational pull of all the planets. Therefore, all the planets that currently revolve around the Sun will move further and further away from it.
How will this affect the planets?
When the Sun finally becomes a full-blown red giant, its core will become a very hot and dense object, and its outer layer will expand significantly. It will capture the modern orbit of Mars, swallowing Mercury and Venus.
Although the Sun's atmosphere will reach the orbit of Mars, it will be able to “escape”, since at this time it will wander at the gates of the expanding solar atmosphere.
At the same time, for the Earth there are two possible scenarios: it can escape, like Mars, or be swallowed up, like Venus and Mercury. But even if our planet manages to slip beyond the reach of the Sun, high temperatures will turn it into a dead and crisp desert. In any case, the Earth will be very close to the red giant, which is bad news for everyone who lives on its surface.
Although more massive stars may have another shell of thermally anchored heavier elements when their helium supplies also disappear, the Sun is too weak to generate the pressure needed to initiate this merger. Therefore, when the helium in the Sun disappears, it will greatly aggravate the situation.
From red giant to white dwarf
Once all the fuel on the Sun runs out, it will become unstable and begin to pulsate. With each pulse, layers of its outer atmosphere will begin to disappear until only a hot, heavy core remains surrounded by a planetary nebula.
Such a nucleus is known as a “white dwarf”. It will cool more and more, approaching the end of its hopeless existence, until it turns into a cold black dwarf. This black dwarf will not resemble our Sun, which once made possible life on our planet, and it is quite possible that it is the only living thing in the fabric of our Universe.
But don't worry. There are many other scenarios that could destroy us long before that.
Many people love the Sun, a warm pleasant summer day and everything else. However, the Sun contains not only the basis of all life on Earth, but also a kind of thermonuclear time bomb capable of destroying the Earth at any moment.
Does it make sense to provide a description of the full importance of this star for the Earth? It is probably enough just to point out that without the Sun there could be no life on Earth at all. This star was formed as far back as 4.5 billion years ago. This happened due to the compression of the cloud of gas and dust of molecular hydrogen by gravitational forces. Due to the processes of increasing pressure and temperature, a thermonuclear reaction was launched in the core, which continues today.
Hydrogen serves as the fuel for this reaction. Approximate calculations by scientists say that this significant element will last for another 6.5 billion years. If we take into account that the average lifespan of a Sun-like star is approximately 10 billion years, the Sun is still quite young, and has not even passed the middle of its own life path, so that people do not have to worry about the fate of their children.
However, they say that humanity will still face some problem even earlier than 6.5 billion years later.
It is difficult to imagine that with such constant hostility and wars, humanity will live for at least a few more million years. In addition, we must not forget about possible meteorite falls, supernova explosions and other external influences. However, if humanity still lives longer, then in the last centuries of its existence there will be torment and truly terrible things.
What processes are expected on the Sun?
During thermonuclear reaction processes in the solar core, the conversion of hydrogen into helium is observed. For billions of years, the Sun has been processing 4.26 million tons of matter every second. In this case, the composition of the core gradually changes. The consumption of hydrogen contributes to the compression of the core, increasing its brightness and temperature. Approximate estimates indicate an increase in these indicators by as much as 10 percent every billion years. At first glance, this figure is not so large, but relative to the habitable zone where the Earth is located, even a one percent change in the parameters of the Sun can fatally affect the development of life. According to computer modeling, after 1 billion years it will be impossible for highly developed creatures to live on Earth, since the high surface temperature and Greenhouse effect from evaporation large quantity water will be a hindrance to life. On average, the temperature will rise by 40-50 percent, and people, even if they are alive, will be forced to hide in the depths of the earth or water in special bunkers.
Most likely, at these moments only deep-sea inhabitants of the sea and thermophilic bacteria capable of surviving at such high temperatures will have a more comfortable state. Perhaps, if there is no competition, they will be able to develop, go through the appropriate evolutionary processes and become intelligent beings. But this is only fantasy, because science claims that 3.5 billion years later, after the Sun has used up ¾ of the hydrogen reserves in its own core, even the simplest will not be able to live on Earth, since all the water on the planet will dry up, and the surface will be so hot that the planet will resemble today's Venus. Thus, there will be no life left on the planet. However, the end of the world will happen even later.
The core of the Sun will become denser and smaller. After about 6 billion years, the core will heat up so much that hydrogen will begin to burn not only in the core itself, but also in the outer layers, and this will contribute to the increase in the star itself by several times. Consequently, the sun will emit the brightest light, and even greater heat will emanate from it. All the energy released during the hydrogen fusion processes will be directed to the outer shell. From here, an increase in the size of the Sun will be observed, and the core at those moments will consist of dense helium. Eventually the Sun will become a red giant.
The densification of the Sun's core will continue, and at some point the temperature will reach a sufficient value to trigger the helium combustion reaction. For hundreds of years the star will remain stable, but this will be just a calm before stormy events. After 7.7 billion years, the helium inside will be used up and eventually converted into carbon. The core of the star will begin to decrease in size, however, the outer shell will grow. As a result, the Sun will reach a size 256 times larger than it is now.
How will this affect the Earth?
A remarkable fact is that such a solar cycle will not provide the opportunity for life on Earth, but at the same time it will be ensured comfortable life on other planets, since some stability will be maintained during helium combustion. Those planets that now have very low temperatures will turn out to be simply a paradise for life. However, such comfort will only last for a relatively short time.
Scientists have been arguing among themselves for a long time regarding the absorption of the Earth by the Sun. The point is that the star is rapidly losing its mass. At this time, hydrogen will rapidly expand and burn, and a strong wind will arise, which can lead to a shift of planets from their orbits due to a decrease in the influence of gravitational forces. Most likely, the Earth will be doomed to be absorbed by the Sun. But this is all ambiguous, because scientists do not agree on a common opinion.
To complete the life cycle of the Sun with a supernova explosion on a grandiose scale, the mass of the star will not be enough. After all fuel reserves are exhausted, approximately 7.8 billion years later, a planetary nebula is expected to form from the inflated outer layers of the star. The place of the Sun's core will be taken by a white dwarf, which is an evolved star similar in size to the Earth. This star is characterized by an incredibly high density, because one teaspoon of its matter will weigh tons. However, white dwarfs do not have their own source of thermonuclear energy, which suggests that the changed Sun will gradually release heat into space, however, its luminosity will already be extremely low in comparison with the current state of the star.
As for the Earth, due to the transformation of the Sun into a white dwarf, it will slowly freeze, as is happening throughout the solar system. The Earth will have to go through the expansion of the outer shells of the star and extremely high temperatures. Even if we assume that humanity will be able to survive until such a time, the destruction of civilization on Earth will happen in any case. Here it would be appropriate to search for a new home on other objects in space or even move the planet to preserve it from the destructive influence of the Sun. However, all these thoughts are pointless, because all this will not happen soon, so now it is more rational to concentrate on other problems of humanity.
Anything can happen to the Earth. It could crash into another planet, be swallowed up by a black hole, or a stream of asteroids destroy all life. Nobody knows what exactly will cause the death of our planet.
But one thing is for sure - even if the Earth can avoid alien attacks, dodge huge space rocks and prevent a nuclear apocalypse, the day will come when our own Sun will ultimately destroy us.
Kevin Gill
And according to Gillian Scudder, an astrophysicist at the University of Sussex, that day may come sooner than we think.
Bleeding dry earth
The sun shines thanks to a thermonuclear reaction that converts hydrogen atoms into helium atoms in its core. In reality, about 600 million tons of hydrogen per second are burned.
And as the Sun's core becomes saturated with this helium, it contracts, causing the fusion reaction to speed up—which means the Sun emits more energy. In fact, every billion years it becomes 10% brighter.
And although this 10% may seem like a small amount, such a difference can have catastrophic consequences for our planet.
“Predictions about what exactly will happen on Earth as the sun brightens over the next billion years are quite uncertain,” says Scudder. “But the general idea is this: increasing the amount of heat received from the Sun will increase the evaporation of water from the surface and the steam will end up in the atmosphere. The moisture will then act as a greenhouse gas, absorbing more and more incoming heat, accelerating evaporation.”
Ultimately, Scudder says, high-intensity sunlight will bombard our atmosphere and split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, gradually drying out the Earth.
Kevin Gill And this is not the end. A 10% increase in the Sun's brightness every billion years means that in 3.5 billion years the Sun will shine nearly 40% brighter, causing Earth's oceans to boil and our planet to lose all moisture from its atmosphere.
The earth will become unbearably hot, dry and barren - like Venus.
Kevin Gill Over time, the situation will only become grimmer.
Death rattle of the sun
All good things come to an end. And one day, in 4 or 5 billion years, the Sun will run out of hydrogen and helium will begin to burn instead.
After this, the Sun can be considered a red giant.
ESO/L. Calçada Over time, the mass of the Sun will decrease, which is why its gravitational influence will weaken. Therefore, all the planets of the solar system will begin to gradually move away from the star.
According to Scudder, when the Sun becomes a full-blown red giant, its core will be very hot and dense, and its outer layer will expand much.
Its atmosphere will stretch to the current orbit of Mars, engulfing Mercury and Venus.
The Earth will have only two options: either escape from the expanding Sun or be absorbed by it. But even if our planet slips out of the reach of the Sun, intense temperatures will lead to a sad outcome.
“In any case, our planet will be quite close to the surface of the red giant, which is not good for life,” says Scudder.
Kevin Gill From red giant to white dwarf
Once the Sun runs out of fuel, it will become unstable and begin to pulsate.
With each pulse, the Sun will lose layers of its outer atmosphere until all that remains is a cold, heavy core surrounded by a planetary nebula.
X-ray: /CXC/RIT/J.Kastner et al.; Optical: /STScI With each passing day, this core, known as a white dwarf, will cool as if it had never illuminated what may be the most living planet in the universe.
But who knows. Maybe aliens will come to us before that.