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In about 5 billion years the Sun will become a red giant. So those future astronomers won't be gazing from earth because earth will no longer exist.
by dreamcompiler 5y ago
In about 5 billion years the Sun will become a red giant. So those future astronomers won't be gazing from earth because earth will no longer exist.
- gfody 5y agothat's this sun. the sun next to the last earth might also be 5 billion years from growing but that's 100 billion years from now.
- Kbelicius 5y agoJust nitpicking but there is no other sun than this sun. Sun is the name of the star that the earth orbits.
- psd1 5y agoJust nitpicking but there is no categorical evidence that no astronomer on this earth or elsewhere has named any other star "sun" in English or any other language; and also, proper names can serve as generics, c.f. "hoover", "Karen"
- dotancohen 5y agoWhen talking about other solar systems, the term "sun" (not "Sun" with a capital S) is often used to refer to the central star or stars. For example, Tatooine is often mentioned as being in a two-sun system. This is not dissimilar to using the word moon, lowercase M, to refer to bodies orbiting planets other than Earth. But the earth has The Moon (capital M).
- Chris2048 5y agoMaybe true, but... I thin the real "names" of the sun is sol, and of the moon is Luna. Just mankind is so pre-occupied with particular sun/moon(s) that the language heavily leans into the context where "moon" refers to Luna, and "sun" refers to sol; unless the context explicitly implies otherwise. Hence "the moon" isn't just the proper title for Luna, but rather a reference to "some moon in particular", which has always been Luna for so long, that the term is now an idiom. In contrast, I think if you where on a planet in a different solar-system, "the sun" might reasonably refer to the local star, and "the moon" to the local moon, assuming just one prominent moon.
- danbruc 5y agoAfter a quick bit of searching around I think Sun, Sol, Sonne, and many more are the name of our star in various languages. On the other hand language usages is what defines the meaning of words, so if other stars are commonly called suns, those two words are synonyms.
- marcus_holmes 5y ago> Sun is the name of the star that the earth orbits. I thought it was "Sol"?
- Chris2048 5y agoHmm, I think "sun" predates the revelation that stars and "the sun" are the same kind of thing. I think Sun can mean both/either the (terran) sun, as well as other "sun"(s).
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y agoEarth and at least the 'inner' solar system will be inhabitable long before that.
- formerly_proven 5y agoInhabitable means habitable? What a country!
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y agoSorry, uninhabitable. (errNEC(not enough coffee)) edit: Anyway, long before the Sun expands, its radiation alone will make everything too hot, while it is believed it will be more unstable in the process. Which means more solar storms, coronal mass ejections and the like. Not good.
- danbruc 5y agoStar lifting [1] to the rescue. By mining mater from stars it might be possible to influence its life cycle and extend its lifespan by billions of years. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_lifting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_lifting
- LargoLasskhyfv 5y agoUhm. Let's first try to tame Yellowstone by using it as geothermal power plant, ok? :-)
- danbruc 5y agoOf course, step by step.