The Muslim Science & Arts Academy, Alam Garh

The Last Days on Earth

5 to 7 billion years from now, our sun will turn into a red giant. Its cycle will come to an end. As our sun continues depleting its supply of hydrogen and helium, it will expand further and further until it reaches 256 times its current size. 5 million years later, the red giant will sweep through the inner solar system. Mercury and Venus will get swallowed by the expanding red giant.

The rising temperatures will cause excessive amounts of rain and wind, which will lead to major damage across our planet. The temperature on Earth’s surface will reach more than 2,400 K (2,130 C or 3,860 F). Earth will lose atmosphere, which will cause planes to fall from the sky. The land will be covered with metal and metal oxides, as well as icebergs of refractory. The intense radiation and heat will make it impossible for life to exist on Earth. Due to extreme heat, the carbon in our atmosphere will not be replenished.

The lack of carbon dioxide will slowly kill all the plants on Earth. The death of the plants that produce oxygen will lead to a major drop in oxygen levels across Earth. This will kill all the remaining mammals and birds on our planet. Creatures that require less oxygen will survive a little longer. As temperatures continue to rise, the insect population across the planet will die out, leaving behind only microbial life, just Earth has billions of years ago.

Tardigrades that can withstand high radiation and extreme temperatures will be the last creatures on Earth to survive the death of our sun. Our home planet will no longer be in the habitable zone. After boiling under intense heat, all the oceans will evaporate. Once all the water is gone, Earth’s surface will mainly consist of a massive lava ocean. Without water on Earth, the tectonic plates will completely stop moving.

In about 7.6 billion years, Earth and the moon will likely be engulfed by the red giant. As the red giant expands, a new habitable zone will form in our solar system. This new habitable zone will stretch into the Kuiper Belt, far beyond Neptune. The icy world will melt, and liquid water will be present beyond the orbit of Pluto. Human could build colonies and settlement in the outer solar system. Neptune’s moon Triton and the dwarf planet Eris could be our new homes.

As the red giant burns out, it will collapse into a planetary nebula. The sky of the newly inhabited world will look magnificent. The color space clouds of the planetary nebula will be visible in the sky. As the planetary nebula collapses further and further, the dying star will become a white dwarf. Over the next hundred million billion year, the white dwarf will cool down. After exhausting all its energy, the white dwarf will no longer emit significant heat or light. 1 quadrillion years later, our sun may eventually turn into a black dwarf. The once massive star that provided heat and light to our planet would become a cold object the size of planet Earth.

Image via: Nazar Abu Haidar

Vulcanic Lightning🌋⚡️, Southern Chile🇨🇱

📷 IG: Francisco Negroni Fotografía

The Southern Ring planetary nebula (360 Composite)

Some stars go out with a bang. This image shows the Southern Ring planetary nebula, the James Webb Space Telescope shows a dying star cloaked by dust and layers of light.

The dimmer star at the center of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is cloaked in dust.

Two cameras aboard Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132, and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is approximately 2,500 light-years away.

Webb will allow astronomers to dig into many more specifics about planetary nebulae like this one – clouds of gas and dust expelled by dying stars. Understanding which molecules are present, and where they lie throughout the shells of gas and dust will help researchers refine their knowledge of these objects.

This observation shows the Southern Ring Nebula almost face-on, but if we could rotate it to view it edge-on, its three-dimensional shape would more clearly look like two bowls placed together at the bottom, opening away from one another with a large hole at the center. In thousands of years, these delicate layers of gas and dust will dissipate into surrounding space.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI
Compositing: Hashem Al-Ghaili

James Webb Space Telescope: Our Eye to the Cosmos (360 Composite)

This week, the world was inspired by the breathtaking images that were released by the James Webb Space Telescope. Besides the crisp resolution, the details were beyond incredible! It just goes on to show the amazing things humans can do when they work together.

The world thanks the scientists, engineers, operators and everyone who contributed to this massive undertaking. It didn’t only bring the world closer together; it also inspired our young generation to pursue careers in science and engineering.

I can’t wait for the upcoming images! The universe is so immense! There is so much to learn about what lies beyond our Milky Way galaxy.

~ Hashem