Earth is expected to be habitable for another 1.75 billion years
Findings published today in the journal Astrobiology reveal the habitable lifetime of planet Earth. The research team looked to the stars for inspiration. Using recently discovered planets outside our solar system (exoplanets) as examples, they investigated the potential for these planets to host life.
“We used stellar evolution models to estimate the end of a planet’s habitable lifetime by determining when it will no longer be in the habitable zone. We estimate that Earth will cease to be habitable somewhere between 1.75 and 3.25 billion years from now. After this point, Earth will be in the ‘hot zone’ of the sun, with temperatures so high that the seas would evaporate. We would see a catastrophic and terminal extinction event for all life,” said Andrew Rushby, who led the research.
However, conditions for humans and other complex life will become impossible much sooner – and this is being accelerated by anthropogenic climate change.
(GIF from the video of a geostationary satellite Electro-L)
Good news, for now.
