Will Our Sun Die One Day Like Stars In The Universe?
What would Earth be like without the sun? Obviously, it would be dark and without heat from the sun, it would be extremely cold, but would it be able to still sustain life? Life under water would probably not exist because all life form on Earth gets their energy from the sun. Earth would most likely become an icy rock, very much like other barren planets in outer space.
Our sun is actually no different from a star in the sky. It is in itself a star, a middle-aged one at that. It is about 5 billion years old. So, it is aging just like any other star in the universe. It will also meet its demise, just like other stars that have met theirs. How does all of this relate to us? Well, if our sun is a star and all stars die after a couple billion years, then logic would state that our star will die someday too.
What will happen to us when our star dies? Many good books speak about the end of time. Many of us may perceive the end of time to be religious in nature, but in regards to our sun-star discussion, this has nothing to do with religion and a lot to do with astronomical science and things we see every day, such as stars exploding and dying across our skies. Therefore, it doesn't matter if we believe in a supreme creator or not. Our days are numbered on Earth. Anyone with common sense can see that.
As stars age they begin to run out of hydrogen fuel found at their cores, (Sciencedaily). The dying stages of stars are very much the same as a car running out of gas. The engine of a car running out of gas would begin to splutter or hesitates (stop and go over and over until it comes to a halt). Dying stars also do likewise, but in a slightly different way. Its way of stopping and going is showing bright light then dim light over and over again until it can no longer emit any more light. A perfect example in terms of light and energy is that of the light bulb. A dying light bulb is one that has finally used up all its filaments. The filament in a light bulb is the source of the light bulb's energy. When a light bulb begins to run out of fuel, it also begins to go dim and dimmer.
The life of stars shed light on the faith of our own sun-like star which will be no more, 5 billion years from now, or will it? The end is inevitable, but we can still enjoy ourselves and treat others the way we want to be treated. We can make the best of what we have on Earth and what Earth has to offer at this present time. It is the same as eating healthy so we can get the most out of life, even though we all know that the end is inevitable.
There is no need to worry about things we cannot control and things we fully don't understand. It makes sense logically that our sun-like star will burn out some day, but who knows for sure that this will happened. No one knows for sure, not even the astronomical scientists. All they can do is speculate and use science to explain things.
Science cannot explain everything, (Livescience). There are many phenomena that occur all the time that science cannot explain. One prominent phenomenon is the placebo effect in which hospital patients suffering from certain ailments are given water pills. After receiving the water pills, these patients become cured of their ailments. Not even the most advanced medical science can explain such phenomenon; many say it is a sort of body and mind connection in which the mind heals the body. Whatever the case maybe, no one including scientists is absolutely sure of how the placebo effect works. This goes to show that in regards to the life of our sun, no one can be absolutely sure that it will burn out 5 billion years from now or if ever.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Will Our Sun Die One Day Like Stars In The Universe?
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