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The remnants of a supernova in the Star Nebula (rotated and slightly modified)

Humanity is obsessed with history. I don't know why, but for the nigh function we would much rather lose ourselves in reverie than contemplate the future. Fifty-fifty when we exercise think of the time to come, information technology'south about ever constrained to our future, usually merely a scattering of years hence. It is a rare person indeed who thinks of l or 100 years in the future — only what most i,000 years? Or a million years? Or a billion years?

Will humanity notwithstanding exist? Volition the Pyramids of Giza even so be? Volition World or the Solar System exist?

The humbling, absolute truth is that human history makes up the tiniest of fraction of the universe's history — and when you consider that the universe itself, at fourteen billion years quondam, is still in its infancy, well… we don't really take words to describe the utter flash-in-the-pan unimportance of humanity. The universe is xiv billion years old, the Earth is four billion years one-time, and Homo sapiens, humans, have existed for around 200,000 years. At that place are a few conflicting theories on what will happen to the universe in the long term, just the most probable theory — continued expansion until oestrus death occurs — is calculated to happen in 1010120 years. This is a vast, vast number that y'all or I tin can't even begin to comprehend; it'south 1, followed by 10120 zeroes.

Long before the ultimate fate of the universe, though, all forms of life will cease to exist. In "just" 10twoscore years (10 followed by 40 zeroes), the universe volition enter the Black Pigsty Era, with almost all the matter in the universe forming black holes. After 10100 years these blackness holes volition evaporate and we will enter the Dark Era, where the universe volition comprise almost no affair at all. Information technology is theorized that a handful of subatomic particles will bounce around for a few more gazillion years (until 10ten120 ), lose what energy they have left, and the universe will somewhen decay into its final energy land — death.

Just we're getting ahead of ourselves! The timeline of the almost far future is much more interesting, because our progeny might really live to see it. For example, in 8,000 years, thanks to the Earth's slowly shifting axial precession, Deneb will replace Polaris every bit the North Star. In x,000 years, the Gregorian calendar will exist ten days out of sync with the sun's position in the sky (and thus the seasons) — this is delightfully ironic, equally the Gregorian calendar was originally implemented to gear up a 10-24-hour interval slippage acquired by the Julian calendar. In 13,000 years, our axial precession will mean that Vega (a very bright star indeed!) becomes the North Star.

The Pale Blue Dot: Earth, as seen by Voyager 1, 6 billion miles awayLooking a chip farther out, in xl,000 years, Voyager ane volition retain the title of "farthest human being-made object from Earth" and pass within one.half-dozen lite years of Air-conditioning+79 3888 (a star) — unless, of course, humanity develops a faster propulsion system before then. Moving at a velocity of 61,400 kilometers per 60 minutes (38,200mph), information technology takes Voyager i near 14,000 years to travel a unmarried lite year. Voyager 1 is peradventure almost famous for taking the photo on the correct, the Stake Blue Dot, at Carl Sagan's behest. Here, Earth tin be seen from six billion miles away as Voyager 1 leaves the Solar Organization.

Later 50,000 years, assuming we can curb anthropogenic (man-based) global warming, the electric current interglacial is scheduled to terminate, throwing the Earth back into an ice historic period. Around this time, assuming nix else changes, Niagara Falls should accept eroded the remaining 20 miles to Lake Erie, and will cease to exist. (Presumably Lake Erie will freeze during the water ice age, anyway.)

In 100,000 years, due to the continued (and very rapid motion) of stars in the heaven, constellations will no longer be recognizable. Old after that, but before 1 million years take passed, Betelgeuse will go supernova. As one of the largest known stars, and at a distance of only 640 light years away from u.s.a., the supernova is expected to be visible during the day (that is, if any humans are around to run into information technology).

In i.4 million years, Gliese 710 is expected to pass by our Solar Organization, getting as shut as one.1 calorie-free years. Fifty-fifty at this distance, it won't be a particularly bright star — just if we're yet stuck hither on Earth (God assist us), and assuming Gliese 710 has its own set of planets, this will be one of our best chances to populate some other solar arrangement.

Let'southward take a quick breather. To put this all into perspective, recall that virtually everything we've achieved hither on Earth has taken place in the concluding ten,000 years, since the advent of mod civilisation — and due to the acceleration of engineering, a vast number of our achievements have occurred in simply the concluding 200 years or and then. In one.4 million years, by the time Gliese 710 does a wing-by, human culture will exist indescribably avant-garde. 1.four 1000000 years is more than long enough for a new species to sally, too, then who knows, peradventure Homo sapiens volition take been ousted past Homo technicus, or something forth those lines.

Pangea Ultima -- one of the possible Earth supercontinents

Continuing on, in 50 million years, the Californian coastline will brainstorm to be subducted into the Aleutian Trench. In other tectonic news, after 50 1000000 years, Africa will accept collided with Eurasia, squashing the Mediterranean out of beingness and creating a new mountain range, much similar the Himalayas. After 250 million years, it'due south possible that the continents volition accept (re-fused) back into a single supercontinent.

Between 250 meg and 800 million years from now, Globe will slowly become uninhabitable, due to the Lord's day's increasing luminosity (the erstwhile daughter hasn't reached her peak all the same!) As temperatures rise, weathering increases, and the amount of carbon dioxide drops to a bespeak where plants can no longer photosynthesize. 1 billion years from now, the Dominicus'due south luminosity will accept increased by 10%, resulting in an average Earth surface temperature of 47 degrees Celsius (117F). At this point, the oceans volition evaporate into space, and shortly after, almost all remaining lifeforms will die.

Solar life cycle, for our own Sun

From this signal on, I gauge it doesn't really matter what happens to Earth, only just in case you're wondering: In about 7.9 billion years, the Dominicus will reach its maximum radius — 256 times larger than it is today. At this point, information technology will absorb Mercury and Venus, and probably the Earth too. This is the finish of the line for Globe. Presently thereafter, the Sun will shrink down into a white dwarf, and and then 6 billion years afterwards it will (theoretically) become a black dwarf — a sorry, cold, stellar remnant.

If you want to learn about the fate of the Milky way (and the universe!) after that, well, hit upward Wikipedia's timeline of the far future.