Could we survive the end of the Universe?

Credit: Andrew Pontzen and Fabio Governato

The distant future of our Universe looks rather bleak: cold, empty and dark. But inventive civilisations may still find ways to survive, even after the last stars have died away.

Emergency exit: Wormholes might give us access to other universes, if we needed to escape the inevitable death of our own.

Credit: Jodi Phoenix

Our Universe is already winding down. Billions of years ago, the birth rate of new stars was much higher than it is now. In the future, it will decrease further. Meanwhile, if the expansion of the Universe continues to accelerate, galaxies will move ever further away from each other. In the very distant future, we could be left with a cold, empty and dark Universe, containing solitary stellar corpses like neutron stars and black holes. If the Universe contracts again - and no-one knows if this could happen - it could become a star-studded scene again. But probably not for very long; a big crunch could eventually wipe everything out. At present, the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, but no-one knows what the distant future holds.

Last resources: After the last stars in the Universe have died, future civilisations may still be able to extract energy from black holes.

Credit: D. Jerry

Crunch time: If cosmic expansion turns into contraction in the very distant future, our Universe may end in a “big crunch”; and potentially start a new cycle.

Credit: design und mehr

Ripped apart: If dark energy gets ever more powerful in the distant future, the very fabric of spacetime may be torn apart in what is called the “big rip”.

Credit: ESO/N. Bartmann

Scientists like "what if?" questions. What if the Universe expands forever? What if the Universe shrinks back into one spot? What if the Universe came to a complete stop? What do you think?