The Universe is Dying

The Universe is getting darker, according to a study. Stars are burning hydrogen and helium and turning them into heavier elements. The amount of hydrogen and helium - star fuel - in the Universe is falling, and eventually stars will run out of fuel so the Universe will be dark.

The rate at which this is happening is startling. Half as much power is being churned out now than two billion years ago.

The study, led by Simon Driver and Andrew Hopkins, was an international effort that used technology on land and in space to study 200,000 galaxies and the energy they generated. It found that stars have lost roughly half their power over the last 2 billion years.

The Universe is also expanding, so that as stars die, the Universe will become MUCH MUCH darker, eventually black. Fortunately, or perhaps not, even if we overcome our self destructive instincts, we may not survive to see it.

In 5 billion years, the sun will expand and swallow the Earth. In 10 billion years, our galaxy will merge with the Andromeda galaxy.

In fact the death of the Universe is only a stage, maybe a prelude to megadeath. It is possible the Universe will die again in a BIG CRUNCH, reversing the BIG BANG,

It is also possible that all the black holes will evaporate and explode, filling the universe again with light and hydrogen - fuel for stars - a sort of rebirth

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