• Question: is there an estimated time for when the end of the world will happen? will there be anything after that?

    Asked by to Edward, Ian, Mathew, Naomi, sakshisharda on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      Hi Miranda!

      Earth is estimated to end when our sun dies, which is in about 7.5 billion years, when it balloons into a red giant engulfing our solar system.

      Life is estimated to end much sooner than that though – in around 600 million years when our atmosphere is likely to change because of the increasing energy of the sun which will kill plants, and therefore all other life that relies on oxygen.

      Or a meteorite could hit earth instead…….

    • Photo: Ian Stephenson

      Ian Stephenson answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      The earth will be destroyed when the sun dies, but otherwise the universe carries on pretty much without noticing.

      Stars die regularly (astronomers love a good explosion! who wouldn’t want to see a star blowing up!). There are millions more. To the universe a star dying is not really much different to 1 person dying on the earth is to the planet.

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