The broader scientific picture is that Earth’s habitability will decline over extremely long timescales as the Sun becomes brighter. Some estimates place major habitability changes around one billion years from now, while the Sun’s dramatic red-giant transformation occurs billions of years later.
The Bottom Line
The headline may sound frightening, but there’s actually something fascinating behind it.
Earth isn’t facing destruction anytime soon. Instead, scientists are studying a future so distant that it is difficult to comprehend. The research provides another reminder that planets—and even stars—have life cycles.
