"If life was found on Mars, would the risk of alien infections mean it would be too dangerous to bring it back to Earth for examination."
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Question
What would an imaginary terrestrial observer see as the Sun runs out of hydrogen in the future?
For the past 5 billion years the Sun has been getting gradually brighter as it consumes the hydrogen in its core, and it will continue to increase in intensity. By the time the core hydrogen nears exhaustion, the luminosity of the Sun will be so great that the Earth will have lost most of its ocean and atmosphere, so your hypothetical terrestrial observer would not be enjoying the view at all. At this time the Sun also begins rapid expansion, and at its maximum size (the "red giant" stage) the Sun will be large enough to engulf them inner planets Mercury and Venus, and its atmosphere might reach as far as the Earth.
David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
May 27, 2005
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