SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-sun-red-giant-white-dwarf

What will our Sun become near the end of its life?

A red giant, and then a small white dwarf.

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  1. A black hole
  2. A red giant, then a white dwarf ✔
  3. A comet

Why: When the Sun runs low on fuel, it will swell into a red giant. Later its outer layers drift away and only the hot core, a white dwarf, is left. It is not heavy enough to become a black hole.

Huh, didn't know that: NASA estimates the Sun will last about another 5 billion years before becoming a white dwarf.

The dad joke
What does a red giant say when it gets older? I am really starting to expand my horizons.
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References

Answer: A red giant, then a white dwarf. When the Sun runs low on fuel, it will swell into a red giant. Later its outer layers drift away and only the hot core, a white dwarf, is left. It is not heavy enough to become a black hole.

  1. NASA Science: Sun Facts science.nasa.gov/sun/facts
    When it starts to die, the Sun will expand into a red giant
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. CAP Aerospace Dimensions Module 5, Space Environment (Alaska Wing copy) akwg.cap.gov/media/cms/Module_5__Space_Environment_C640727DEF762_83c5b.pdf
    the Sun will eventually collapse to become a white dwarf, which is the remaining core of the star.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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That's stuff everyone should know.