Billions of years in the future, when our Sun bloats up into a red giant, it will expand to consume theEarth's orbit. But wait, you say, the Earth travels the Earth's orbit… what's going to happen to our beloved planet? Will it be gobbled up like poorMercury and Venus?
Astronomers have been puzzling this question for decades. When the sun becomes a red giant, the simple calculation would put its equator out past Mars. All of the inner planetswould be consumed.
However, as the Sun reaches this late stage in its stellar evolution, it loses a tremendous amount of mass through powerful stellar winds.......
