“Scientists say the Earth may not be engulfed by the expanding fireball of the dying Sun, which has long been assumed to be our planet's ultimate fate.

This is not expected to happen for another five billion years, long after all life on Earth has been wiped out.”

‘"If tidal interactions predominate, Earth is engulfed by the Sun. If the Sun's mass loss predominates, Earth escapes into an orbit larger than the radius of its star," Mr Esseldeurs, an astrophysicist at Belgium's University of Leuven, said in a statement.

Until now, scientists had favoured the first hypothesis.’

https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2026/0619/1579351-sun-earth/

That's a relief. I hate it when a picnic you planned for weeks is ruined by an expanding red giant.

What difference does it make ?
Even if not engulfed by the expanded Sun, it will still be close enough to fry TheVat's picnic.