* Main Sequence Star: Right now, the Sun is a main sequence star, meaning it's fusing hydrogen into helium in its core. This process generates the energy that makes the Sun shine.

* Red Giant Phase: In about 5 billion years, the Sun will run out of hydrogen fuel in its core. The core will start to contract and heat up, causing the outer layers to expand and cool, turning the Sun into a red giant.

* Helium Fusion: As the core contracts, the temperature will eventually become hot enough to ignite helium fusion. This will cause the Sun to expand even further, engulfing Mercury, Venus, and possibly Earth.

* Planetary Nebula: After a few hundred thousand years of helium fusion, the Sun will run out of fuel again. It will then shed its outer layers, forming a beautiful planetary nebula.

* White Dwarf: The remaining core, consisting mostly of carbon and oxygen, will cool and shrink, becoming a white dwarf. White dwarfs are very dense and extremely hot but no longer produce energy through fusion.

Key Characteristics of a White Dwarf:

* Small and Dense: White dwarfs are about the size of Earth but have the mass of our Sun, making them incredibly dense.

* Faint and Cool: White dwarfs gradually cool and become fainter over time. They emit mostly in the ultraviolet and visible light spectrum.

* Long Lifespan: White dwarfs can exist for trillions of years, slowly fading away until they become black dwarfs (theoretical objects that haven't been observed yet).

So, although the Sun's death is a long way off, its eventual transformation into a white dwarf is a fascinating example of the life cycle of stars.