the Earth will be destroyed?

The sun is slowly getting hotter. It's output will increase over the centuries, and in 1 to 1.5 billion years, it'll render Earth incapable of supporting life. Man will have faded out long before that, as the plants and animals we depend on for food will likely have expired from the changes coming. In a way, that's a 'destroyed Earth'...

But, the *planet* will still be here...

What might happen is a very large rock could slam into us, devastating life on Earth. One just six miles wide wiped out most the land species just 65 million years ago; double that size (or larger), and you've effectively wiped out life again - and, the Earth is still there.

What's going to *remove* Earth from existence is the sun are dying... The long-dead Earth will still orbit the sun; and, when the sun begins to die, it's nuclear fusion reaction will slowly slightly, shrinking the sun - which will add heat and pressure on the helium core now being built deep inside the sun. The added heat will spark the 'Carbon Flash' - and the helium will begin fusing into Carbon for a short time, expanding the surface of the sun hundreds of times, eventually engulfing the planets Mercury, Venus, and finally the Earth... Earth will slowly spiral inward with the added drag to it's motion, until tidal forces literally tear it apart....