What fate awaits the Earth when our sun dies?

Like other stars, the sun has a natural lifecycle which means that one day in the far future, it will die.

And, according to a recent article on LiveScience, its demise will also, not surprisingly, "vaporize the Earth."

Changes will likely start occurring in about 1.2 billion years when the hydrogen in the sun's core begins to run out; the radiation output will increase as a result, causing our planet's temperature to reach a blistering 167 degrees Fahrenheit.

Conditions are only expected to worsen as time progresses, with the sun estimated to appear 40 percent brighter on Earth in 3.5 billion years than it does currently; Universe Today likens this state to that of present-day Venus.

After the sun celebrates its 11 or 12 billionth birthday, scientists believe the solar body will continue to expand to the point where it is 166 times bigger than it is today, reports io9.

Mercury and Venus will likely not survive, and some researchers believe Neptune could become the place to maintain life.

The sun is currently estimated to be around 4.6 billion years old.

Space-related events occurring in 2016: