The Second of Nine Threats

This threat is all about the life and death of stars, and precisely where you happen to be when it happens.

In five billion years, give or take a billion, in its death throes the sun will bloat like a gassy balloon … maybe as far as Mars. Unfortunately, Earth is in the way. Sayonara sapiens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9L7SMoT3RM

But we won’t have to wait that long. In about a billion years, give or take a few hundred million, the sun will be unbearably hot. It’s already about 30% hotter than in its youth. Talk about climate change.  http://io9.com/what-the-death-of-the-sun-will-look-like-471796727

But maybe even before that, solar storms will get us. 1859 was the year of the last big one. http://www.space.com/12584-worst-solar-storms-sun-flares-history.html

To the point, we’ll be gone long before the sun dies. But it doesn’t even have to be our star that does the job. Every 225-250 million years we complete an orbit of the galactic center. While there are currently no candidates for supernovae in our neighbourhood, if we wait long enough, like the weather, that’ll change. Do you know where your sun has been? http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2011/12/are-we-entering-the-danger-zone-the-solar-systems-250-million-year-orbit-through-the-milky-way.html

Next blog, Threat #3.