According to present day stellar models, the evolution of the Sun leaves the Earth with only approximately 500 million years left where it can sustain multi-cellular life, and perhaps another 300 million after that the last single celled organisms will perish.
I read about this, in much more detail, and felt a serious emotional anguish at the thought that only half a billion years from now no complex life forms will remain and not long after that no life at all.
Why should it matter to me when I and all of humanity will be gone long before that time? Well, I think there is a resonance, until recently we thought multi-cellular life only went back 600 million years, which would make the Earth kind of middle-aged, but recent discoveries of multi-cellular life forms now push that date back 2.1 billion years, which means that the Earth is 80% through it’s multi-cellular life harbouring days. Me, I’m 56, at least half-way through my life, and who knows maybe a lot more than half-way. I’m adopted so I have no idea what the genetic inclinations of my parents are.
A friend turned thirty today and she was upset about all the time that has slipped by, water under the bridge, goals not attained. I would like to be ONLY thirty again. A lot more water’s been under my bridge.