How Old Is The Sun
Without the sun, we would not exist. Energy from the sun fuels life on our planet. This raises the question of how old is the sun?
How Old Is The Sun
The sun is the critical component of our solar system. Without the energy in sunlight, life as we know it would not exits in the forms of plants, animals and human beings. This means we need to know the answers of two fundamental questions. How old is the sun and how long will it continue to burn?
How old is the sun? It is believe to be from 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old. It burns approximately 5 million tons of hydrogen and helium a minute in the nuclear reaction found at its core. While this is certainly a large figure, the sun contains so much mass that it should burn for another 5 billion years or so. Put in practical terms, the sun has reached middle age. Let’s hope it doesn’t have a mid life crises!
Although it is not a problem for all of us currently living human beings, our descendants are eventually going to have to confront the end of the sun. When the sun eventually burns through its fuel, it will undergo a major change. It will start to convert helium into heavier material. While you might think burning off the energy will make it smaller, it will actually expand dramatically. It will eventually grow so large, it will swallow the Earth even though the planet is currently millions of miles away. This process will be the evolution of our sun into a red dwarf star. Eventually it will end its life as a white dwarf.
How hold is the sun? 4.5 billion years with another 5 billion or so to go.
