The Sun's Ultimate Fate and Transformation

Contrary to popular belief, our Sun lacks the mass required to become a black hole. Instead, it will undergo a transformation into a red giant and eventually become a white dwarf surrounded by a planetary nebula.

Black holes are the remnants of massive stars, at least 20 times more massive than our Sun. These stars collapse under their own gravity after exhausting nuclear fuel, leading to a supernova and leaving a dense core behind.

The Sun’s mass is insufficient for the core collapse needed to create a black hole. After burning through its hydrogen, the Sun will lack the gravitational force necessary to compress into the singularity of a black hole.

In about 5 billion years, the Sun will expand into a red giant, engulfing Mercury and Venus, possibly reaching Earth. Its outer layers will be shed while the core shrinks, eventually leaving a white dwarf.

A white dwarf is the Sun's remaining core, dense and hot but incapable of nuclear fusion. It will cool over trillions of years, fading into a black dwarf, a theoretical object, as the Universe ages.

As the Sun dies, it will expel its outer layers, creating a planetary nebula. This spectacular display will last for tens of thousands of years before the gases disperse and the nebula vanishes.

The spectacular supernova, a star's explosive death leading to a black hole, is reserved for stars much more massive than our Sun. The Sun's relatively peaceful transition stands in stark contrast to these violent events.

Some scientists theorize our Sun might have had a stellar sibling, now lost, which influenced the formation of our solar system.