Solar System destruction may occur faster than previously estimated

A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests the Solar System could face dissolution roughly one billion years after the Sun becomes a white dwarf. This timeline is approximately 100 times faster than previous scientific estimates.

Researchers Konstantin Batygin, Jim Fuller, and Fred C. Adams propose that the instability is triggered by stochastic solar mass loss. Unlike previous models that assumed the Sun would shed mass smoothly as it transitioned from a red giant to a white dwarf, new simulations indicate that mass loss will likely occur through irregular, random bursts of ejections. These unpredictable ejections create gravitational perturbations that prevent planetary orbits from remaining stable, potentially leading to a violent reorganization or destruction of the planetary neighborhood.

Separately, astronomical models note that the Sun is currently a stable yellow dwarf but will eventually exhaust its hydrogen fuel. In approximately five billion years, the Sun is expected to expand into a red giant, a process that will dramatically alter the solar system and potentially engulf several inner planets.