Our planet may have survived for 4.5 billion years, but humanity faces some major threats. There’s always the possibility that an asteroid will wipe us out, just as one did for the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago. We could be engulfed by a gamma-ray burst or disrupted by a wandering star. There are also dangers closer to home, from volcanoes to nuclear war. Even supposing humans manage to survive all these threats, we can still say for certain that life here on Earth will eventually be no more. In around 5 billion years from now the Sun will undergo a massive change that will fundamentally alter our Solar System. It will cause the end of not only all life here on Earth, but possibly the entire planet, and we will have no choice other than to find somewhere else to live.
Astronomers have been looking at the possibilities of colonising other planets for years. Mars currently tops the list of destinations, with NASA working hard to develop the capabilities needed to send humans to the Red Planet in the 2030s. Yet some scientists are taking a much longer view. Rather than looking towards the terrestrial planets for our new home, they say humans will one day have to relocate to the outer Solar System if they want to survive. As it currently stands, sending scores of humans to live beyond the asteroid belt is out of the question. The four gas giants are utterly unsuitable for life, and the moons of the outer Solar System are well outside of the habitable zone – the region around the Sun where the atmospheric pressure is able to support liquid water, making conditions for life as we know it ‘just right’.
Denne historien er fra Issue 108-utgaven av All About Space.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 108-utgaven av All About Space.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
15 AUTUMN STARGAZING TARGETS
Go on a night-sky treasure hunt as the brighter evenings give way to the cooler months
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE WHY IS VENUS SO DRY?
A new study reckons the answer lies high in the Venusian atmosphere
WHEN BLACK HOLES TURN WHITE
Can bouncing black holes help physicists find the ultimate theory of everything?
THE MOON'S THIN ATMOSPHERE IS MADE BY CONSTANT METEORITE BOMBARDMENT
While the solar wind also contributes to the atmosphere, meteorites are the main culprit
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL AND HOW TO BECOME A SPACE TOURIST
Having explored much of the Solar System, attention is now turning to the stars beyond
NASA'S PERSEVERANCE ROVER FINDS POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ANCIENT RED PLANET LIFE
Further analysis is needed, but a rock contains potential evidence that life once existed on Mars in the distant past
A NASA TELESCOPE MAY HAVE FOUND ANTIMATTER ANNIHILATING IN POSSIBLY THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION SINCE THE BIG BANG
The massive explosion was captured in 2022
Jameel Janjua "This is how we get to Mach 3”
Jameel Janjua made it to the bitter end in a Canadian government astronaut selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space through Virgin Galactic
BOEING NEEDS TO IMPROVE QUALITY CONTROL ON THE SLS MOON ROCKET
The NASA Inspector General's report finds serious quality-control issues affecting the upgraded version and expects cost overruns and delays
DARK ENERGY
THE MOST DOMINANT FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE IS ALSO ITS MOST MYSTERIOUS AND MOST UNANTICIPATED
