Recent content by Bob Weaver

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    Undergrad When will the sun lose enough mass for planets to escape orbit?

    OK thanks!
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    Undergrad When will the sun lose enough mass for planets to escape orbit?

    I am familiar with the terms supernova, red giant, white dwarf, neutron star and black hole, but not the terms 'main sequence' or 'Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.'
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    Undergrad When will the sun lose enough mass for planets to escape orbit?

    Thank you for your reply. This brings up another basic question. (I know I could get the answers just by studying on my own and I will study it more.) How do we know for certain that the sun will go red giant? How do we know when that will happen? Just based on evidence of other stars? I need to...
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    Undergrad When will the sun lose enough mass for planets to escape orbit?

    This came up on another website I read, and it got me to wondering, so I am certain someone here could answer this. The sun is constantly losing mass, as it converts its mass to energy. As it loses mass, its gravitational field weakens, because the gravitational field of a body is directly...
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