How and when will Earth DIE? The truth is really SHOCKING

Over the years, there have been much speculation on when will Earth die. Science does have the Earth death answer, but it is definitely not for the faint heart-hearted!

Questions around how and when will Earth die have always puzzled our minds. But science can reveal the terrifying truth about the death of Earth. (Pixabay)

For centuries, people have been both terrified and curious about the death of Earth, our only home planet. From the Mayan calendar prophecy to the Nibiru cataclysm, there are endless theories people have come up with in an attempt to predict the deadliest question: how and when will the Earth die? While these theories were not backed by science and eventually came to be proven wrong, science does have some answers about the death of Earth. We do know when the Earth will die and more importantly how this horrible reality will befall our home. Read on to find out the truth about Earth death.

How will the Earth die

Keeping the speculation and mysticism aside and speaking from a purely scientific perspective, the death of Earth is not only a possibility but an eventuality. As the laws of the universe dictate, everything must come to an end one day- all things must pass. But thankfully, we will not be here to witness that, but our future generations may well be. Unless humanity discovers interstellar travel and takes shelter on a different planet or faces extinction here, we too will perish along with the death of the Earth.

Future of Earth: First stage

So, when will the Earth die? The first signs are still one to two billion years away! Yes, you read that number right. But it will begin with the Sun beginning to exhaust the hydrogen for nuclear fusion in its core and moving on to helium for its next stage of nuclear fusion. This will make it expand and heat up exponentially. The temperature on Earth will rise so much that the water in the ocean will begin to boil. Once the water evaporates and fills the atmosphere with water vapor, the greenhouse effect on Earth will significantly increase. This resultant rising temperature on Earth will mark the beginning of the death of Earth. The high temperature will kill most of the living species on the planet including plants, further reducing the oxygen content of the planet.

Future of Earth: Final Stage

But even this will not kill our planet, just most of the life on it. When will Earth death happen then? The next stage of its demise will be visible in five to seven billion years from now. As the Sun transitions from a star to a subgiant, and then to a helium-burning red giant, nothing on Earth will withstand the increasing heat and luminosity. The Sun will swell up to hundreds of times of its present size and the heat will completely obliterate the surface of the Earth. At this point, the Earth will be a barren wasteland, much like Mars.

In the following stages, as the Sun cools down, there are two probable endings for our home planet. Either the red giant phase will engulf our planet and rip it apart, or it will survive being ejected out of the dying solar system to float around in space as a space rock. The answer to the questions of when will Earth die or how will Earth die is not a pleasant one. The only saving grace is that none of us will be here to witness the final nightmare.