• Question: when is the world going to end?

    Asked by mrspolly to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 22 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by leggooo, milachinchilla, tiadollyday, holliemansell.
    • Photo: James Pope

      James Pope answered on 22 Jun 2012:

      Hi mrspolly

      I think it will be in about 5 billion years, when the sun (having burnt most of it’s fuel) will expand so much in size it will either consume the earth or be so close it will burn the Earth’s surface. But as the Earth is only 4.5 billion years old, there is a very long time to go!

    • Photo: James Verdon

      James Verdon answered on 23 Jun 2012:

      James P is right, the sun has about 5 billion years left, so that’ll be the ultimate end. However, when you look through geological history, everything goes extinct eventually, and that’ll include us. Who knows what it’ll be that ends it for us – maybe a meteor impact (like the dinosaurs), maybe diseases, or maybe we’ll wipe ourselves out in a nuclear war.

    • Photo: Gemma Purser

      Gemma Purser answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      Until we learn to accurately predict the future we wont know. There are lots of factors between now and 5 billion years that we probably haven’t even taken account of that will actually end the world. We can make models and predict the future but it is only ever based on our knowledge and best judgement at this current time. The best thing is to make the most of it while its here!

    • Photo: Nuala Carson

      Nuala Carson answered on 27 Jun 2012:

      Hey Mrspolly,

      I have no idea really. I see that most people here are quoting around 5million years. That maybe the case but we will certainly make the plant inhabitable for humans long before that so the earth may be here but there wont be any humans on it!

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