Cosmic Endgame: What Will We See When the Sun Turns into a Red Giant?
Preface
On the planet we live on, human civilization has a long history, we have observed countless beautiful and spectacular astronomical phenomena, and explored many mysteries of the universe. However, how will the Earth and the entire universe change over the long time scales of the future? When the sun we know it turns into a red giant, what will be the end of the universe?
1. The Sun Expands: The Earth Becomes a Second Mars
1. The future fate of the sun
The Sun is our parent star and the center of the entire solar system, providing warmth and light to planets such as Earth to sustain life. However, during the 4.6 billion years that the Sun has existed, it will also experience its own constant changes, just like other stars.
In the next few billion years, the sun will gradually deplete the hydrogen needed for nuclear fusion reactions, and at the same time, the radiation pressure generated during the nuclear fusion process will also weaken, causing the core of the sun to gradually collapse, the combustion activity of the outer hydrogen will continue to spread, and the volume of the sun will continue to expand, and eventually become a red giant.
2. The future fate of the planet
When the Sun expands into a red giant, its surface temperature drops, but due to the dramatic expansion in volume, the overall luminosity increases dramatically, which will have a huge impact on the planets of the entire solar system.
Under the luminosity of the red giant, the surface temperature of the earth will rise sharply, the oceans and atmosphere of the earth will be destroyed by high-energy ultraviolet and X-ray radiation, the earth's water resources will be decomposed, the atmosphere will be blown away by the solar wind, and eventually the earth will become a dry, scorching world, becoming a second Mars.
3. The sun "devours" the planets
After the Sun expands into a red giant, its volume will expand to a position in near-Earth orbit, and the Earth and other inner planets will become the "food" of the Sun, "swallowed" by the Sun.
When the sun depletes the outer layer of hydrogen, it will undergo a process of mass loss, outer material escape, and eventually form planetary interstellar matter and planetary interstellar clouds, and all life carried by the earth will also disappear and become part of the cosmic dust.
2. The End of the Universe: Darkness, Coldness, and the Singularity of Collapse
1. Stars extinguish and black holes evaporate
In addition to the sun, other stars in the future universe will also experience the process of birth, evolution and death, when all the stars are extinguished, the whole universe will become extremely dark and cold, then the universe will be in a state of maximum entropy, all matter will not be able to carry out any form of energy transformation, and the entire universe will be completely "dead".
After that, black holes will become the only cosmic landscape, and they will slowly evaporate with the action of Hajin radiation, and the universe will disappear as a result.
2. Penrose's theory of cosmic cycles
Scientists have also put forward many different ideas about the end of the universe, including Penrose's theory of the cosmic cycle.
According to Penrose, the end of the universe is not really the end, but the birth of a new universe, and the "dead" universe will be re-expanded into a new universe through some mechanism, thus completing the cycle again and again.
3. The wonders of the universe in the future
If the theory of cosmic cycles is correct, then we may see many wonderful scenes in the future endgame of the universe.
When the universe begins to shrink, galaxies will get closer and closer, and even collide, which will release huge amounts of energy, and extraterrestrial civilizations may also move closer to Earth because of such changes, and at that time, we may receive more radio signals to "communicate" with extraterrestrial civilizations.
3. The endgame of mankind
1. The infinite possibilities of the universe
It is difficult for us to imagine such a scenario in the face of the end of the universe, but the end of the universe may not be the end, but the birth of a new universe, full of infinite possibilities.
Perhaps in the next universe, the laws of time and space will be different, and there will even be "parallel universes", which is full of infinite space for exploration and imagination for us.
2. Cherish what is in front of you
When we think about the end of the universe, it may bring us some hesitation and helplessness, but it also reminds us to cherish everything in front of us, whether it is the beautiful planet we live on or the emotional bonds between people, and treat every moment of life with a grateful heart.
3. Protect the planet for a better future
Although the end of the universe seems to be a little out of reach for us, the earth we are facing is real, and we must realize that all life on the earth is closely related to us, and every action and choice we make will affect the future of the earth.
Therefore, in the face of the end of the universe, we should start from the present and strive to protect the earth, protect the ecological environment, so that the earth will always be full of vitality and create a better future for future generations.
epilogue
Whether it is the vastness of the universe or the splendor of life, we cannot fully explore and understand the mysteries with our limited knowledge and wisdom.
But it is precisely because of the unknown and exploration that human beings can continue to move forward and make progress, and it is precisely because of the end of the universe that we can more deeply understand the preciousness of "life", cherish everything in front of us, and face every day of the future with a brave and kind heart.