It is the far future, perhaps 8 billion years from now, and the Sun is facing a quiet death. All that remains is a tiny glowing ember called a white dwarf. At first the star will be fairly luminous by virtue of its temperature. But as it cools down it will grow steadily dimmer. This is a view from the Earth (if it survives) when the white dwarf has cooled to the extent that it provides barely more light than a few full moons.