The end of the world is no longer just some far-off notion; the event now has a date. New research shows how much time it will take for the Earth to basically dry up and no longer be able to support human life.
And as long as whatever is on your bucket list won't take longer than 1.75 billion years, there's not really anything for this generation or the next couple million generations to worry about. (Via YouTube / DaveandNic4eva)
That's about how long researchers at the University of East Anglia predict will take the Earth to end up outside of the habitable zone. "These zones are defined by water. In the habitable zone, a planet is just the right distance from its star to have liquid water. Closer to the sun, in the 'hot zone,' the Earth's oceans would evaporate." (Via LiveScience)
The Earth won't move, but it's actually the sun we have to keep an eye on (not literally). As it gets older, the star is continuously growing hotter, brighter and bigger at about a 10th of an astronomical unit every billion years. (Via The Guardian)
Now, 1.75 billion years might seem like a long time away, but in relative terms, it’s really not too far off.
It took about 4.5 billion years just for the evolution of an intelligent species on Earth. (Via Wikimedia Commons / TimeVickers)
And according to one of the lead researchers, "Modern humans have only been around for the last 200,000 years — so you can see it takes a really long time for intelligent life to develop." (Via Discovery)
But if it helps you feel any better, all won't be lost like that. It will actually be a very slow process as the Earth dries up and completely runs out of water reserves.
But according to the researchers, there's still the chance our planet won't make it that far — you know, with all the other likely doomsday scenarios, like a meteor strike, nuclear war, crazed robots, superinfections, aliens, black holes and, of course, zombies. (Via YouTube / DXINTRO Ø, National Nuclear Security Administration, Wikimedia Commons / Real Steel 01, Wikimedia Commons / Alviseni Lopez / Binky1206 / Jin Zan, NASA)
The study did note there is a solution or a sort of safe haven: Mars. Although it’s fairly close to Earth, scientists estimate it will remain in the habitable zone until the sun dies in about 6 billion years. So mark your calendars.
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