Timeline of the far future facts for kids

Some types of science can help us guess what might happen far into the future. For example, astrophysics studies how planets and stars are born, how they affect each other, and how they die. Particle physics looks at how tiny pieces of atoms and other matter behave over time. Evolutionary biology shows how living things change and develop. And plate tectonics explains how continents slowly move across the Earth. By looking at what happened in the past and what is happening now, scientists can make good guesses, called predictions, about the future.

One important idea for predicting the future of Earth, our Solar System, and the whole universe is the second law of thermodynamics. This law says that entropy is always increasing. This means the universe is slowly running out of useful energy that can do work. For example, stars will eventually use up all their hydrogen fuel and stop shining.

Scientists also believe that most matter (anything that has mass and takes up space) will eventually break apart. This happens because of radioactive decay. Even very stable atoms and molecules will eventually split into smaller particles. Scientists think the universe is flat, or almost flat. This means it won't collapse in on itself in the future. But if the universe lasts forever, then even very unlikely things, like the formation of Boltzmann brains, could happen.

This article shares timelines of events, starting from the year 3001 CE and going into the very distant future. It talks about whether humans will disappear, if protons will break down, and if Earth will still be around when the Sun grows into a red giant star.

Artist's idea of the Earth several billion years from now, when the Sun is a red giant.

Key to Symbols

	Astronomy and astrophysics (about space and stars)
	Geology and planetary science (about Earth and other planets)
	Biology (about living things)
	Particle physics (about tiny particles)
	Mathematics (about numbers and patterns)
	Technology and culture (about human inventions and ways of life)

The Future of Earth, Our Solar System, and the Universe

Erosion is a process where wind, water, or other forces slowly break down rocks and mountains over time.

	Years from now	Event
	10,000	If the ice plug in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin breaks, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet could melt completely. This would make sea levels rise by 3 to 4 meters.
	10,000	The huge red supergiant star Antares will have exploded in a supernova by this time.
	13,000	Earth's axial tilt will be reversed. This means summer and winter will happen on opposite sides of Earth's orbit. Winters will be colder and summers warmer in the northern hemisphere.
	15,000	The Sahara desert might turn back into a tropical climate. This is due to the Earth's poles shifting, which moves the North African Monsoon.
	17,000	A "civilization-threatening" supervolcanic eruption is likely to happen. This kind of eruption is big enough to throw out 1,000 gigatons of ash and rock.
	36,000	The small red dwarf star Ross 248 will become the closest star to the Sun. It will be only 3.024 light-years away.
	50,000	The current warm period between ice ages will end, and Earth will go back into an ice age. However, global warming might delay this by another 50,000 years.
	50,000	A day on Earth will be about 86,401 SI seconds long. This is because the Moon's tides slowly make Earth's rotation slower.
	100,000	Many constellations will look very different as the stars move in space.
	100,000	The hypergiant star VY Canis Majoris will probably explode in a supernova.
	100,000	Native North American earthworms will have spread north through the United States to the Canada–US border.
	> 100,000	About 10% of the carbon dioxide from human activities will still be in the atmosphere.
	500,000	Earth will likely be hit by an asteroid about 1 km wide, if people can't stop it.
	500,000	The rough land of Badlands National Park in South Dakota will have completely worn away.
	1 million	The red supergiant star Betelgeuse will likely explode in a supernova. It will be visible from Earth even during the day for a few months.
	2 million	Coral reef ecosystems are expected to return to normal after human-caused ocean acidification.
	10 million	The East African Rift will widen and be flooded by the Red Sea. This will create a new ocean basin, splitting Africa.
	10 million	Biodiversity is expected to fully recover after a possible Holocene extinction. Even without a mass extinction, most current species will have disappeared.
	50 million	The moon Phobos will likely crash into Mars.
	50 million	Africa will crash into Eurasia, closing the Mediterranean Sea. This will create a mountain range like the Himalayas.
	100 million	An asteroid as big as the one that killed some of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago will likely hit Earth, if people can't stop it.
	100 million	The rings of Saturn will change or disappear.
	110 million	The Sun will be 1% brighter than it is today.
	180 million	A day on Earth will be one hour longer than it is now. This is because the planet is slowly spinning down.
	230 million	This is the furthest ahead scientists can predict the orbits of the planets.
	240 million	The Solar System will complete one full orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
	250–350 million	All the continents on Earth may join together to form a supercontinent. This will likely lead to a new ice age.
	>250 million	If a supercontinent forms, rapid biological evolution may happen. However, increased competition and a brighter Sun could also cause a mass extinction.
	500 million	A powerful gamma-ray burst might happen within 6,500 light-years of Earth. This could affect Earth's ozone layer and possibly cause a mass extinction.
	600 million	The Moon will be too far from Earth to cause a total solar eclipse.
	500–600 million	The Sun's increasing brightness will start to disrupt Earth's climate. Carbon dioxide levels will fall so low that most plants will die.
	500–800 million	As Earth gets hotter and carbon dioxide levels drop, plants and animals might adapt. Many animals may move to the poles or underground. Most land will become desert, and life will mostly be in the oceans.
	800–900 million	All multicellular life will die out. Only single-celled organisms will remain, possibly near hydrothermal vents.
	1.1 billion	The Sun will be 10% brighter, making Earth's average temperature around 47°C. The atmosphere will become a "moist greenhouse," causing the oceans to evaporate.
	1.3 billion	Eukaryotic life (cells with a nucleus) will die out on Earth because of a lack of carbon dioxide. Only prokaryotes, like bacteria, will remain.
	2.3 billion	Earth's outer core will freeze. Without a liquid outer core, Earth's magnetic field will shut down. This will cause charged particles from the Sun to slowly remove Earth's atmosphere.
	2.55 billion	The Sun will reach its hottest temperature: 5,820 K. After this, it will start to cool down, even though it will get brighter.
	2.8 billion	All remaining life, which will be single-celled organisms in small, protected places, will die out.
	3 billion	The Moon's increasing distance from Earth will mean it can no longer keep Earth's axial tilt stable. This will cause big climate changes on Earth.
	3.3 billion	There's a small chance that Jupiter's gravity could make Mercury's orbit so wobbly that it crashes into Venus. This could make the inner Solar System very chaotic.
	3.5–4.5 billion	All water on Earth will evaporate into the air. The Sun will be 35-40% brighter, making Earth's surface extremely hot (around 1127°C).
	3.6 billion	Neptune's moon Triton will fall apart and become a ring system around Neptune, like Saturn's rings.
	4 billion	The Andromeda galaxy will have collided with the Milky Way. They will become one galaxy called "Milkomeda." The planets of our Solar System will likely not be disturbed.
	5.4 billion	The Sun will run out of hydrogen fuel. It will finish the main sequence part of its life and start to grow into a red giant.
	7.59 billion	Earth and the Moon will probably fall into the Sun. This will happen just before the Sun reaches its largest size as a red giant.
	7.9 billion	The Sun will reach its biggest size ever, 256 times its current size. Mercury, Venus, and very likely Earth will be destroyed.
	8 billion	The Sun will become a carbon–oxygen white dwarf star. If Earth somehow survives, it will become very cold because the white dwarf Sun gives off much less energy.
	22 billion	The universe might end in the Big Rip scenario. This is if dark energy causes the universe to expand faster and faster until everything is torn apart.
	50 billion	If Earth and the Moon are not swallowed by the Sun, they will become tidally locked. This means they will always show the same face to each other, so there will be no day or night.
	65 billion	The Moon may eventually crash into Earth, if they are not swallowed by the Sun first.
	100–150 billion	The universe's expansion will make all galaxies beyond our Local Group disappear from view. Anyone living near Earth then won't be able to see them.
	450 billion	The roughly 47 galaxies in the Local Group will merge into one giant galaxy.
	1014 (100 trillion)	Normal star formation will end in galaxies. There will be no more free hydrogen to make new stars. All existing stars will slowly run out of fuel and die.
	1.1–1.2×1014 (110–120 trillion)	All stars in the universe will have run out of fuel. Most objects the size of stars will be white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, and brown dwarfs.
	1015 (1 quadrillion)	Close encounters between stars will cause all planets to be thrown out of their star systems into space.
	1020 (100 quintillion)	The Earth will crash into the black dwarf Sun. This would only happen if Earth is not thrown out of its orbit or swallowed by the Sun earlier.
	1030	Stars not thrown out of galaxies will fall into their central supermassive black holes. Only solitary objects will remain in the universe.
	2×1036	All nucleons (protons and neutrons) in the universe might decay. This depends on how long a proton's half-life is.
	3×1043	If protons decay, the Black Hole Era will begin. In this era, black holes are the only things left in space.
	1065	If protons do not decay, rigid objects like rocks and planets will slowly change their atoms and molecules through quantum tunneling. Any solid object will become a smooth sphere.
	2×1066	A black hole with the mass of our Sun will decay into subatomic particles because of Hawking radiation.
	1.7×10106	Any supermassive black hole will decay by Hawking radiation. This will be the end of the Black Hole Era. The universe will then enter the Dark Era, where all physical objects have decayed into subatomic particles.
		The latest possible time until all iron stars collapse into black holes through quantum tunnelling. These black holes will then evaporate into subatomic particles.
		A Boltzmann brain might appear in the vacuum of space.
		The highest estimate for how long it takes for the universe to reach its final energy state.
		If possible, quantum effects could cause a new Big Bang, creating a new universe.

The Future of Humanity

	Years from now	Event
	10,000	This is how long a technological civilization might last, according to Frank Drake's ideas.
	10,000	There is a 95% chance that humanity will be extinct by this date. This is based on a debated idea called the Doomsday argument.
	20,000	Future languages will likely only keep 1 out of 100 "core vocabulary" words from today's languages.
	100,000+	This is the time needed to make Mars a place where people can live with breathable air, using only plants.
	1 million	Humanity could colonize the entire Milky Way galaxy by this time. We might also be able to use all the energy of the galaxy.
	2 million	If groups of humans travel to different places in space and stop meeting each other, they will likely evolve into different species.
	7.8 million	There is a 95% chance that humanity will be extinct by this date, according to another version of the Doomsday argument.
	100 million	This is the longest a technological civilization might last, based on Frank Drake's ideas.
	1 billion	An astroengineering project could change Earth's orbit. This would keep Earth's climate stable even as the Sun gets brighter.

Spacecraft and Space Exploration

As of 2020, five spacecraft are traveling toward the edge of our solar system: Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, and New Horizons. They will travel into interstellar space. If they don't crash into anything, these machines should last forever.

	Years from now	Event
	4000	The SNAP-10A nuclear satellite will return to Earth's surface. It was launched in 1965.
	16,900	Voyager 1 will pass within 3.5 light-years of Proxima Centauri.
	18,500	Pioneer 11 will pass within 3.4 light-years of Alpha Centauri.
	20,300	Voyager 2 will pass within 2.9 light-years of Alpha Centauri.
	25,000	The Arecibo message, a radio signal sent from Earth in 1974, will reach its destination, the globular cluster Messier 13.
	33,800	Pioneer 10 will pass within 3.4 light-years of Ross 248.
	50,000	The KEO space time capsule, if launched, will reenter Earth's atmosphere.
	800,000–8 million	The etching on the Pioneer plaque will wear out and become invisible due to space erosion.
	8 million	The orbits of the LAGEOS satellites will decay, and they will fall back into Earth's atmosphere.
	1 billion	The two Voyager Golden Records will wear out and become unreadable.
	1020 (100 quintillion)	The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft are expected to collide with a star (or what's left of one).

Technological Projects and Time Capsules

A time capsule is a container that is buried or hidden on purpose. It is meant to be opened many years later. People put things inside time capsules so that future generations can learn about how people lived, played, and worked in the past.

	Date or years from now	Event
	3015 CE	In 2015, Jonathon Keats set up a camera to take the slowest photograph in history. It will finish its picture in 3015.
	10,000	The planned lifespan of the Long Now Foundation's projects, including a 10,000-year clock.
	10,000	The expected lifespan of Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This vault stores seeds from important plants to protect them from extinction.
	1 million	The expected lifespan of the Memory of Mankind (MOM) storage in an Austrian salt mine. It stores information on stone tablets.
	1 million	The planned lifespan of the Human Document Project, which is being developed in the Netherlands.
	1 billion	The estimated lifespan of a "Nanoshuttle memory device," a tiny data storage technology.
	more than 13 billion	The estimated lifespan of "Superman memory crystal" data storage, which uses lasers to store information in glass.

Human-Made Structures

	Years from now	Event
	50,000	This is about how long tetrafluoromethane, the longest-lasting greenhouse gas, stays in the atmosphere.
	1 million	Current glass objects in the environment will break down. Outdoor statues made of hard granite will have worn away by one meter. The Great Pyramid of Giza will wear away until it no longer looks like a pyramid, if humans stop taking care of it. The footprints left by Neil Armstrong and other astronauts on the Moon will be erased by space weathering.
	7.2 million	If humans stop taking care of it, Mount Rushmore will wear away until the faces of the presidents are no longer visible.
	100 million	Future archaeologists should be able to find an "Urban Stratum" of fossilized great coastal cities. They would mostly find underground structures like building foundations.

Nuclear Power and Waste

	Years from now	Event
	10,000	The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, where dangerous nuclear waste is stored, is designed to be protected until this time. It has special markers in many languages and pictures to warn future visitors that the place is dangerous.
	24,000	The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, an area in Ukraine and Belarus that people had to leave after the 1986 nuclear power plant accident, will return to normal radiation levels.
	211,000	This is the half-life of technetium-99, an important long-lasting radioactive product in nuclear waste.
	250,000	This is the earliest time that the spent plutonium in the New Mexico Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will stop being deadly to humans.
	15.7 million	This is the half-life of iodine-129, the most durable long-lasting radioactive product in nuclear waste from uranium.
	60 million	If humans collect all the lithium from seawater, fuel for fusion power reactors will run out.
	150 billion	If humans collect all the deuterium from seawater, fuel for fusion power reactors will run out.

More Timelines

For timelines that show these events in a visual way, check out:

• Graphical timeline of the universe (up to 8 billion years from now)
• Graphical timeline of the Stelliferous Era (up to 10²⁰ years from now)
• Graphical timeline from Big Bang to Heat Death (up to 10¹⁰⁰⁰ years from now)

Related Topics

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Cronología hipotética del futuro lejano para niños