In billions of years, when the Sun exhausts its fuel, it will expand and potentially engulf nearby planets. While life on Earth will likely perish long before, the planet itself might survive, as suggested by a rocky planet observed to have endured its host star’s death 4,000 light-years away. Using microlensing, UC Berkeley astronomers discovered a white dwarf orbited by a brown dwarf and a rocky exoplanet. This scenario could mirror Earth’s future when the Sun depletes its hydrogen, expands, and possibly spares Mars, leaving Earth’s fate uncertain. The study was published in Nature Astronomy.