Will the Sun swallow Earth in 5 billion years?

Analysis Reasoning

In approximately 5 billion years, the Sun will enter its red giant phase and expand dramatically, but whether it will actually swallow Earth remains an open scientific question. While the Sun will definitely consume Mercury and likely Venus, Earth's fate depends on uncertain factors including how much mass the Sun loses as it ages and resulting changes to Earth's orbital distance. Current models suggest the Sun could expand to between 0.85 and 1.5 astronomical units, meaning Earth might escape engulfment and be pushed further out into the solar system, though it would become uninhabitable regardless.

Cited Sources

• 01
  Quanta Magazine - New Clues for What Will Happen When the Sun Eats the Earth

  https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-clues-for-what-will-happen-when-the-sun-eats-the-earth-20231220/

• 02
  University of California, Riverside - Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences

  https://cnas.ucr.edu/media/2023/12/20/new-clues-what-will-happen-when-sun-eats-earth