Our Sun will die in 10 billion years from now
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)The Sun - Level 0
Scientists say our Sun will die in 10 billion years. In about 5 billion years, it will turn into a "red giant". This is when a star is at the end of its life. Its centre will get smaller and its outer layers will reach Mars. This means Earth will burn and disappear. Humans will disappear in one billion years from now.
A professor said when a star dies, it throws gas and dust into space. After this, it runs out of fuel. Then, the star dies. The professor was happy that he could find out many things about space. He said he worked out what stars are in distant galaxies. He said: "We have even found out what the Sun will do when it dies".
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The Sun - Level 1
Scientists know when our Sun will die. It will be in 10 billion years. The scientists say that in about 5 billion years, the Sun will turn into a "red giant". This is the science name for a star at the end of its life. Its centre will get smaller and its outer layers will travel as far as Mars. This means Earth will burn and disappear. It will then become a bubble of gas and space dust. Humans will disappear in around one billion years from now.
The Sun is 4.6 billion years old. It is only one third into its lifespan. A professor said when a star dies, it throws gas and dust into space. This reveals the star's centre. At this point, it is running out of fuel. The star turns off and dies. The professor was happy that he could work out many things about space. He said we can work out what stars are in distant galaxies. He said: "We have even found out what the Sun will do when it dies".
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The Sun - Level 2
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Scientists know when our Sun will die. It won't be soon. It will be in 10 billion years. The scientists are from the UK. They say that in about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will turn into a "red giant". This is the science name for a star at the end of its life. When our Sun becomes a red giant, its centre will get smaller. Its outer layers will travel as far as Mars. This means Earth will burn and disappear. After our Sun turns into a red giant, it will become a bubble of gas and space dust. No humans will be on Earth when the Sun dies out. Humans will disappear in around one billion years from now.
The Sun is still young. It is just 4.6 billion years old. This means it is only around one third into its lifespan. A professor explained that: "When a star dies, it ejects a mass of gas and dust into space.…This reveals the star's core. By this point in the star's life, it is running out of fuel." He said it then turns off and dies. The professor was happy that modern science can calculate the age of stars and what will happen to them. He said we can work out what stars there are in distant galaxies. He said: "We have even found out what the Sun will do when it dies".
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The Sun - Level 3
Scientists have worked out when our Sun will die. It won't be any time soon. It will be in 10 billion years. The scientists are from the University of Manchester in the UK. They predict that in about 5 billion years from now, the Sun will turn into a "red giant". This is the scientific name given to a star at the end of its life. When our Sun becomes a red giant, its centre will shrink. Its outer layers will expand as far as Mars. This means Earth will be burnt and disappear. After our Sun turns into a red giant, it will become a planetary nebula. This is a bubble of gas and space dust. The scientists say no humans will be on Earth when the Sun dies out. Humans will disappear in around one billion years from now.
The Sun is still quite young in space years. It is just 4.6 billion years old. This means it is only around one third into its lifespan. Professor Albert Zijlstra, a scientist from the University of Manchester, explained what happens at the end of a star's life. He said: "When a star dies, it ejects a mass of gas and dust into space.…This reveals the star's core. By this point in the star's life, it is running out of fuel." He said it eventually turns off and dies. Professor Zijlstra was happy that modern science can calculate the age of stars and what will happen to them. He said we can measure the presence of stars in distant galaxies, and "we even have found out what the Sun will do when it dies".
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