• Question: When is the world going to end?

    Asked by demimccullochxxx to Jamie, Jodie, Kat, Mark, Niamh on 21 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Mark Hill

      Mark Hill answered on 15 Mar 2011:

      Hi demimccullochxxx,

      Hopefully not before tea time!
      It is generally believed that the earth is some 4 to 5 thousand million years old and it is middle aged. That gives us certainly a little more time to explore it, providing mankind doesn’t destroy and pollute it beyond a life sustaining state. We only have one rather crowed planet and we need to be careful of all of its resources. So it is down to my generation to responsibly look after it, for your generation to do the same, for the next generation, and so on. We are only borrowing it for a little while, for the length of our lives. Good question though.

    • Photo: Jamie Pringle

      Jamie Pringle answered on 15 Mar 2011:

      Hello demimcculochxxx,

      Again this is a little philosophical! Do you mean human civilisation or the Earth as a planet? The Earth’s surface will cool when it’s core cools and less heat emanates from the sun, and I think when the Sun becomes a red dwarf, it will probably consume the Earth, but beyond my limited knowledge I am afraid!

    • Photo: Niamh Nic Daeid

      Niamh Nic Daeid answered on 16 Mar 2011:

      Hi Demimcculloch

      As Mark said the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Its believed that it will be consumed by the sun as the sun expands in size to become a red dwarf which is predicted to happen in about another 5 billion years (so we have a bit of time yet :).

    • Photo: Jodie Dunnett

      Jodie Dunnett answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      I am sure that the world is not going to end for a really long time!

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