Does the location of the Earths orbit change when the Sun evolves into a Red Giant?
(by Amara Graps) Many people know that astronomers predict that the Sun will evolve into a Red Giant at the end of its lifetime. But what will happen to the Earth’s orbit before, during and after the Red Giant phase? On this page we take a cursory look at the Sun-Earth system during the Sun’s evolution. Mass Loss. Does the Sun expand due to mass loss? The Sun will not expand due to mass loss … There are other processes that cause its expansion. And mass loss occurs due to hydrogen conversion (about 1020 grams of Sun mass is lost every year) and due to an increase in its “solar wind” near the end of the Sun’s life and due to a “sloughing” of its outer layers during the helium flash. Angular Momentum With a transfer of angular momentum from the Sun to the Earth, the location of the Earth’s orbit increases radially further away from the Sun, but these changes are on order of centimeters, and those changes become less over time. What is the role of conservation of angular momentum? If th
