Can planets die on their own like stars?

Question

why not or how?

Everything on earth ages and eventually dies can a planet get so old that it can't "sustain itself" on a molecular level.

1. Assuming that the sun it orbits is still functioning
2. No other outside forces will bring a death to it

*(For all those who might answer "Humans or a deity will destroy everything") I'm not talking about sustaining life on a planet but life of a planet*

The sun isn't dead. So the earth isn't the only "living" thing

I'm asking can the stuff that its composed of eventually deteriorate on its own or does it need an outside force.

Answer 1

When a star dies, it's because, one way or another, it stops "burning" (yes, I know) its nuclear fuel. It may be because it goes supernova, or becomes a white dwarf and then cools to a black dwarf, or whatever. In other words, much of the star's atomic and molecular material still exists some way. In a supernova, much of the material gets blown off into a supernova remnant nebula (the rest may become a neutron star). In the death of a red star, the outer layers are puffed off in a planetary nebula and the remaining white dwarf will eventually cool.

A planet doesn't owe its existence to nuclear reactions. It's a lump of rock, in some cases surrounded by a ball of gas. The only way for this to "die" is for the protons to decay. This takes a REALLY long time.

So yes, planets can physically die on their own, but no, not like stars.

Answer 2

Yeah, this can happen. Have you heard that Mars used to have liquid water on its surface and was once much warmer? Its still just a theory, but the evidence supporting it is massive. Anyways, it did die a long time ago. One theory about how this happened is that it's spinning iron core was big enough to give Mars a strong magnetic field, which like ours, protected its atmosphere from solar winds. Solar winds are large ejections of charged particles (plasma) from the Sun into space. Anyway, the idea is that the core in Mars eventually cooled and stopped spinning, which pretty much caused its magnetic field to go away. Without its protection, the solar winds stripped the planet of most of its atmosphere and caused it to die. Its current atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, and it is so cold and the atmospheric pressure is so low, that liquid water cannot exist on its surface for any more than maybe a minute. I suppose it is possible for this to happen to Earth. Our magnetic field is due to our molten core too. If it were disrupted and the magnetic field went away, we would eventually become like Mars. And that is a possible planet death scenario.

As far as the material making up the Earth deteriorating, I don't think that would happen. Like matter just suddenly starts falling apart? Sounds unlikely, or if it does happen, it would probably have to be due to some outside force or phenomenon.

And I just realized I didn't really answer your question. I showed how life on Earth might die, but the planet itself would still exist. Can the Earth be completely destroyed without outside interference is what you're asking, right? I don't think there is a force destructive enough on Earth to physically destroy the planet.

Answer 3

Planets are pretty large and usually quite stable - its not like they will explode. If they are unlucky enough to be in the path of a large asteroid they might get hit hard enough to shatter. The only other thing I can think of that will kill a planet is the expansion of it's star to red giant or collapse into a supernova.

Answer 4

oh i love these questions, and yes the Earth can die in a number of happy and fun ways. See, i used to read a bunch of Doomsday theories, but my favorite is when the mantle under the crust reached a pressure so great that it erupts all the volcanoes on earth, creates new ones and floods the earth with magma. Another possible way is a bit more boring; a asteroid hits us, we die. Or more interestingly, a MASSIVE asteroid passes us, accelerating us away from the sun, we freeze. i could go on and on, but yes there are many ways a planet can die

Answer 5

Given the super universe there is sure to be one, yet to locate a planet, we use the perturbations in its linked megastar's action and lightweight (if the planet happens to transit between the megastar and us) to discover it. As we've not considered any novas (the place the megastar explodes) close sufficient to have detected a planet formerly the megastar exploded, we haven't any direct know-how of such an journey...

Answer 6

I don't think so. Planets are sattelites of their stars, imo, just like neutrons and electrons are sattelites of protons. In a symbiotic star/planet system, the only way the planet will die is if the star it orbits dies.

Answer 7

protons decay in like 10^66 years. So yes, a planet will eventually "dissolve" like all matter will.

Answer 8

Tom A has provided the best answer by far.

Answer 9

all planets but earth are dead.

Answer 10

By themselves..No.