RR Lyrae distance estimate of . This type of low-mass star has consumed the hydrogen at its core, evolved away from the main sequence, and passed through the red giant stage. Energy is now being produced by the thermonuclear fusion of helium at its core, and the star has entered an evolutionary stage called the horizontal branch (HB). The effective temperature of an HB star's outer envelope will gradually increase over time. When its resulting stellar classification enters a range known as the instability strip—typically at stellar class A—the outer envelope can begin to pulsate. RR Lyrae shows just such a regular
Red giant in part because as the Sun burns hydrogen, it loses mass causing Earth (and all planets) to orbit farther away. There are also significant uncertainties in calculating the orbits of the planets over the next 5–6.5 billion years, so the fate of Earth is not well understood. At its brightest, the red-giant Sun will be several thousand times more luminous than today but its surface will be at about half the temperature. Red giant A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses ()) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The