S Ori to Scale -- Artist's Impression (IMAGE) ESO Caption Sketch of a pulsating red giant of the Mira type overlaid to the inner Solar System. In this image the star S Ori is centred on the sun's position: the sun itself in 5 billion years will evolve to this stage before cooling down as a white dwarf. When it will become a red giant, such as S Orionis, its average size will enshroud the orbit of Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars. Jupiter's orbit will be just outside the maser shell. All the distances are to scale, while the diameters of the sun, planets and maser spots are not. Credit ESO Usage Restrictions Regarding permission to reproduce ESO images, editors of newspapers and bona-fide science magazines and journals (including popular science magazines) may use these pictures without any reproduction charge, but reference must be always be given to ESO -- e.g., by the line License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.