An interesting statistic from a recent New Scientist: "Last Word"

dated 1 October 2005 Issue Vol 188 No 2519.

 

Energy and mass are equivalent.  The sun loses about 4 million tons of mass per second in the form of the energy it produces.  Another ten million tons are lost (presumably per second) in the solar wind and other particles emitted.  In 2 billion years this would equate to one then-thousandth of of the sun's mass.  The change in the earth's diameter of its orbit will be the same (1/10,000)

 

In 6 billion years from now, the solar radius will be 100 times its present value.  Best current estimates are that the sun will engulf Mercury, Venus, and Earth, while the outer planets will continue to orbit the sun even when it later becomes a white dwarf.  It is assumed that the final mass of the sun will be 0.6 of its present mass.  As a result the remaining planets will have orbits about 80 percent greater than they are now.

The sun's mass is approx 1.99 x 10e30 kg.  It is 99.8% of the mass of the solar system

 

The orbit of the earth will increase by about one centimetre a year as a result of the sun's loss of mass.  The sun's luminosity is increasing, so we will probably follow Venus and undergo a runaway greenhouse effect -- unless human activity contrives to accomplish it sooner !

 

But don't tell George Bush !

 

Colin D Campbell
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