How do you think the world will end?

[Kargath]

Swallowed by the sun?

Grey goo?

Heat death?

[Cosmonautical]

Probably a rogue dark star will ominously and suddenly tear through our solar system. I'm like 99% on this.

[Valigarmander]

The theory of stellar evolution predicts that our Sun will exhaust its hydrogen core and become a red giant in about 5 billion years, becoming thousands of times more luminous and losing roughly 30% of its current mass. Ignoring tidal effects, the Earth would then orbit 1.7 AU (250,000,000 km) from the Sun at its maximum radius. This would allow the Earth to escape being enveloped by the Sun's now expanded and thin outer atmosphere, though most life, if not all, would perish due to the Sun's proximity. However, a more recent study suggests that the Earth's orbit will decay due to the effects of tidal drag, causing it to enter the Sun's expanded atmosphere and be destroyed in 7.6 billion years. Before being swallowed by the Sun, the Earth's oceans would evaporate, and the Earth would finally be destroyed by tidal forces. However, this fate is not inevitable - it appears possible to move the Earth to a more distant orbit, using repeated close encounters with asteroids.

Before this happens, Earth's biosphere will have long been destroyed by the Sun's steady increase in brightness as its hydrogen supply dwindles and its core contracts, even before the transition to a Red Giant. After just over 1 billion years, the extra solar energy input will cause Earth's oceans to evaporate and the hydrogen from the water to be lost permanently to space, with total loss of water by 3 billion years. Earth's atmosphere and lithosphere will become like that of Venus. Over another billion years, most of the atmosphere will get lost in space as well; ultimately leaving Earth as a desiccated, dead planet with a surface of molten rock.

****, I'm gonna start building a shelter in my backyard for this.

[Luigiman7]

man-made black holes

[Random User]

12/21/2012

Earth will suddenly stop rotating and everyone will be sent flying off the planet.

[Booyakasha]

I'm still holding out hope for the Battle of Armageddon, or maybe some Ragnarok. Might not be all science-y and crap, but at least it'd be colourful.

[CuccoLady]

I'm not gonna lie, if our moon suddenly got an evil face and crashed into us over the course of three days, I would be so happy to die that way.

[monstrman]

I think the world will end when the sun gets too large and envelops it. Of course, by that time technology may have advanced far enough to get us off this planet, and then that totally destroys the concept of "the world" ending because now there are multiple worlds. If we're simply talking about the extinction of humanity, the possibilities are endless... but I don't see 2012 being a likely scenario.

I would personally prefer a zombie apocalypse cause that would be rad (provided it was with all my friends and family and stuff like that and nothing bad happened) because video gamers all over the world would unite to slay the undead horror that plagues our planet.

[Booyakasha]

I don't think humanity as we know it will still be around billions of years hence.

[Heroine of the Dragon]

Monsanto.

First all the gm plants will cross pollinate with all the other plants, then they'll all evolve their levels of toxins to the point that no living thing can consume them and survive.

...Except maaaaybe... the super-power zombies...

[Bomby]

Luis Suarez will kick the world into the sun. It will be the most amazingly skillful kick in the history of soccerfootball, but it will cost us all our lives.