About five billion years from now, our Sun will move into the last phases of its

Question

About five billion years from now, our Sun will move into the last phases of its life. It will expand to a red giant and then push its outer layers into the interstellar medium via a slow stellar wind, producing a planetary nebula. Suppose that at the end of this process the Sun is left with half its initial mass (in the form of a white dwarf star). Assume that the Earth has a circular orbit and that this orbit is held constant until we arrive at the end of the above process. What kind of orbit will the Earth have at this point? Will it remain in the solar system? (Yes

Explanation / Answer

Solution:

Earth does not exist if the Sun reaches the white dwarf stage. ONly outer planets , called the Gaseous planets from Jupiter will exist . Their orbital radii increase and so the planetary orbits recede from the Sun.

A white is extremely dense and hot, losing its mass. Once the formation of a white dwarf is complete , it continues to cool indefinitely.

A white dwarf's life time is estimated to be 10^32 years or more.

Once the sun reaches the Red giant phase, before becoming a white dwarf, it will engulf the planets Mercury and Venus. Earth will also be swallowed as the Sun expands thru the Red giant phase itself.

At that stage the outer planets starting from Jupiter will be pushed outwards and their orbital radii will INcrease.

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