Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Really Bummed out, 5 BILLION YEARS from now...

Don't move Earth... Stir the Sun
Adam — (archived)

HI All

Greg Benford has pointed out that the Sun won't run out of fuel as it goes Red Giant - just the core. Most of the Sun's hydrogen remains at the end of the Main Sequence - 90% in fact. Half will end up in space via the Super-giant stage blowing off its outer layers.

So why not stir up the Sun??? Huge magnetic fields can create currents in the Sun and get things mixing in the Core...

In fact a red-dwarf is like a cool version of the Sun's Core - 10% of the mass and radius, ultra-high density and totally mixed so almost all the hydrogen is used up. Because the pressure is off the red dwarfs fuse a LOT slower than the Sun's core does - a minimum star shines at ~ 1/3,000th of the Sun's output. Hence red dwarfs can last up to 11 trillion years, while the Sun lasts just 11 billion on the Main Sequence.

Adam

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