Episode Details

Here’s a wild fact: someday, our solar system might not look the way it does now, and it’s all because of white dwarfs. A white dwarf is what’s left when a star like our Sun burns out, and it can cause some serious chaos. Scientists think that when the Sun reaches its end (in about 5 billion years), it’ll swell into a red giant, then shrink into a white dwarf, sending planets flying or vaporizing them entirely. Jupiter and Saturn might survive, but poor Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars will probably be toast—literally! Researchers studying distant solar systems have already seen white dwarfs tearing apart their old planets. So, while it’s not something we’ll ever have to worry about, it’s a wild reminder of just how dramatic space can get!

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