Animated map of how Earth will look in 250 million years

[Psamathe]

Did I read somewhere that the universe is expanding and also accelerating?
In 250M years, we won't be able to see any stars.

as if you will care :wink:

(My understanding) is the expansion is not ubiquitous. We live in a gravitationally bound galaxy so are not experiencing the expansion. And 250M years is not long enough anyway. In about 4bn years Andromeda will be colliding with the Milky Way (although some argue that collision has already started ...) so plenty of stars around.

It is thought possible that in billions of years the expansive forces might overcome the gravitational forces (given the acceleration), but to me, if and when involves a lot of assumptions.

Ian

[old_windbag]

In about 4bn years Andromeda will be colliding with the Milky Way

It will be a very gentle collision in most part due to the timescales and space between all the objects in each galaxy. On horizon it was surprising in that they were stating the universe( as we know it ) is now around 46 billion light years across. Quite big.

We have no one concept of how, why and what it is and why it exists other than theories. Our own thinking processes may limit our perception and understanding of the true picture. It is quite staggering and overwhelming. Worth continuing all research to understand deeper but perhaps understand only by our own human concepts. We may never get to the complete answer.

As I've said before, I'm not religious but the existence of our universe( or multiverse ) really leaves me lost at times. It doesn't make me believe in a greater power just awestruck by its existence.

[Psamathe]

......
We have no one concept of how, why and what it is and why it exists other than theories. Our own thinking processes may limit our perception and understanding of the true picture. It is quite staggering and overwhelming. Worth continuing all research to understand deeper but perhaps understand only by our own human concepts. We may never get to the complete answer......

I think if you look at this in the longer term (ignoring considerations about Trump, nuclear wars, climate destruction, etc.) human comprehension develops over time. The framework we currently have for understanding is very different from that held e.g. 400 years ago when talk of things like atoms would have evoked similar responses. Plus, one hopes that humans as a species are still evolving so maybe we might be smarter at some point in the future ... either that or maybe our AIs might get to understand more.

Ian

[661-Pete]

For those interested in forecasts of the far future, if you haven't already looked at it, this page contains a lot of fascinating facts(?) and figures.

I rather like the final entry in the Future of the Earth, the Solar System and the Universe section. It seems that, in approximately:
10^10^10^56 years,
quantum tunnelling will likely have created one or more new Big Bangs.

What they don't seem to cover is the so-called Poincaré Recurrence Time of the Universe: 10^10^10^10^10^1.1 years. That last is dealt with in this video.

I can't wait!

[old_windbag]

10^10^10^56 years

Can you cut and paste that figure into Mays brexit transition period. I'll digest the facts and figures of the video's.

one hopes that humans as a species are still evolving so maybe we might be smarter at some point in the future

Yes but I think we are in a time where the ideal of humans evolving to having higher abilities could be undone. We have huge populations of people worldwide doing what nature wants them to do, eat,sleep,breed,die( not research deep scientific/technological issues ). Then in our western world we are tipping the balance I feel in that those with a responsible outlook and perhaps higher education, limit their family size to one or two offspring. Outside of that others have many offspring disturbing the balance, the general standards of society swinging to the reverse evolution path.

[Psamathe]

.....

one hopes that humans as a species are still evolving so maybe we might be smarter at some point in the future

Yes but I think we are in a time where the ideal of humans evolving to having higher abilities could be undone. We have huge populations of people worldwide doing what nature wants them to do, eat,sleep,breed,die( not research deep scientific/technological issues ). Then in our western world we are tipping the balance I feel in that those with a responsible outlook and perhaps higher education, limit their family size to one or two offspring. Outside of that others have many offspring disturbing the balance, the general standards of society swinging to the reverse evolution path.

I seem to remember a rather silly film (slapstick) based on that idea (the film was rubbish, not the idea); it's been on TV a few times and I've never manager to watch more than around 10 mins!.

(Thinking aloud about what might be happening NOT suggesting any rights or wrongs:)
But there would seem no reason why sub-species might not evolve with populations (not geographically isolated) creating their own developmental pressures and thus developing along different pathways. And when it comes to multi-verses, multiple dimensions, string theory, etc. it's not something you'd expect all humanity to understand just as these days most of the population don't understand relativity.

If you think about sectors of population and offspring, how often do the mega wealthy elite marry/partner somebody struggling on minimum wage, how often does a university professor marry/partner with somebody dropping out of the education system at 10 years old after being expelled from too many schools? I'd guess that statistically people tend to partner with those moderately similar to themselves and thus there may be a lot of reproductive segregation within our society already and who knows where this might be going.

Ian

[Mick F]

I can't wait!

I can.
I have no intention and no expectation of dying.

Anyone who does, is a quitter.

[661-Pete]

Can you cut and paste that figure into Mays brexit transition period. I'll digest the facts and figures of the video's.

I think that long before then, all the wrangling and legislation going through Parliament will have collapsed into a supermassive Black Hole gobbling up the entire Universe.....

[old_windbag]

whilst on the subject of mickf's longevity ad infinitum, supermassive black holes, and the effect of contraception in biasing the evolution of continuing brain development in humans .

I'd like to think there was something beyond this existence, but I'm realistic that we are just biological machines and it's only because I can think at a higher level that I navel gaze at what could be beyond death. An interesting idea put forward by Roger Penrose and others is that conciousness never dies but is part of the fabric of our universe.

http://www.quantumconsciousness.org/content/hameroff-penrose-review-orch-or-theory one hopes that there would be something more beyond our demise. Having said that if there are multiverses then I will have been murdered in some, may live to 200 in others, it opens up an equal number of negative and positive scenarios.

I also wonder if any of the visible objects we see are not where we view them with light being slightly bent by many super massive objects such that we could be viewing one object in two separate places( say a galaxy ) where light has travelled straight from one view but curved by many "heavy" objects along an alternate path. A flight of fantasy perhaps.