Earth's journey through the solar system is not without wind. At every turn, solar wind, which is a torrent of charged particles, comes streaming from the sun at approximately 1 million mph (1.6million km/h).Earth's magnetic shield protects us from the most severe winds and allows only a warm breeze to enter the atmosphere. We are able to witness the colorful auroras borealis, and australis as they dance towards Earth's magnetic poles.This is a positive situation for the time being. New research indicates that the planet's magnetic shield might not be as strong as it once was. As our star nears its end, solar wind will become more powerful.Related: 15 memorable images of starsA team of astronomers calculated the impact of the sun's energy on Earth over the next five billion years. This is when the star will run out of hydrogen fuel and become a massive red giant. Researchers found that the sun's wind would soon become so strong that Earth's magnetic shield will be destroyed. The researchers found that much of the planet's atmosphere and all protection against harsh stellar radiation will be lost once it is blown into space.According to the authors, any life that has survived for that long will be quickly eradicated.Aline Vidotto (astrophysicist at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland) said that "We know that in the past the solar wind eroded Martian atmosphere." We didn't expect to discover that the future solar wind could cause as much damage to planets protected by a magnet field.The sun's last breathsIn billions of years, the hydrogen that fuels nuclear reactions in the sun's core will run out. The sun's core will contract under its own gravity while the star's outer layers expand. Without this fuel, it will eventually run out of hydrogen. The sun will eventually become a huge red giant, a massive red orb that extends miles beyond its current limits.The sun's outer atmosphere will expand and it will lighten up every planet in its path. NASA predicts that Mercury and Venus may be extinguished, and Earth could follow suit.After billions of years of expansion, it will become a white dwarf. It will dimly glow for another billion years, before the lights go out.If Earth survives the sun's transformation into a giant red star, it will be in a very different solar system to today. NASA says that the sun's core will contract, and its gravitational pull on planets will diminish. This will cause any planets that aren't eaten up to drift twice as far away from the sun than they are now. Also, the radiation coming out of the red giant solar system will be much more intense than it is today.The new study's authors wanted to find out: How intense is that radiation? And can Earth's magnetic field withstand the assault? The researchers used 11 types of stars to model the winds, with masses that varied from one to seven times that of the sun. Researchers discovered that solar wind's speed and density will change as the sun grows in diameter towards the end of its lifespan. This can also cause changes in the magnetic fields of nearby planets.The authors concluded that each planet's magnetic field was "quashed" by wind intensity in their models. According to the researchers, a planet's magnetic field must be 100 times stronger or more than Jupiter's today.Dimitri Veras (astrophysicist at University of Warwick, U.K.) said that the study "demonstrates the difficulty of planets maintaining their protective magnetosphere during the entire duration of the giant branch phase of stellar evolution".This research is not only a reminder of the impending doom of life on Earth, but it also has implications for searching for extraterrestrial life. Astronomers believe that white dwarf stars may have potential to host planets within their orbits, due to the lack of solar winds from these dead stars. Researchers wrote that if life exists on an Earth-like planet orbiting a white dwarf star then it must have developed after the star's red giant phase ended.It's highly unlikely that any life on any planet will survive the death its sun, but new life may spring from the ashes once the sun stops its destructive winds. The wind might be against us right now, but it will eventually be our friend. For some universes, this means new life and smooth sailing.Original publication on Live Science
