End Of The World?

Heh. I just read Eileen's recent post on her journal. Then I looked at the time and it was 3:33 am.

So I thought I might as well post something on that topic before I start a new post on the past few fun days.

Everyone's been talking about the end of the world.

And those that know me. You know I read Wikipedia when I'm bored. As in literally, bo liao until to the limit.

And I do like to read up on space and Earth topics.

So here goes.

Lets talk about the long term events. Like around a few billion years to come to Earth. I guess everyone knows, everything in the universe moves. The Solar System is in the galaxy known as the Milky Way. And that there is more than one galaxy in the whole universe.

Specifically, the Andromeda Galaxy.

Currently, the Andromeda Galaxy is on a collision course with the Milky Way with an average speed of 140 kilometres per second and an impact is expected in 3 billion years time. This merging of the two galaxies, can push our solar system to be in an eccentric, or odd, orbit that the solar system is moving now. Also, merging means that newer planets, stars and other space objects will come in contact close with the Earth.

Next, The Sun.

Perhaps not everyone, but most of us know. The Sun is existant on burning everyday. Every minute. Every second. The amount of hydrogen allows the Sun to continually combust to provide heat around. However, the amount of hydrogen, is not limitless.

In 5 billion years, stellar evolution, or the aging process of a star, which is our Sun, predicts that the Sun will exhaust its core hydrogen and turn into something we call, a Red Giant.

A Red Giant is basically, a giant luminous star that has a low or intermediate amount of mass that is in its late phase of its aging process, with nuclear fusion occurring outside the core of the Sun but not in the core itself.

When the Sun becomes a Red Giant, it expands to the size where it is big enough to engulf all of the inner planets in the Solar System. Other words, everything before the Asteroid Belt. Which includes Earth.

Before this year, studies calculated that the expansion of the Sun, would result in the Earth having a wider orbit around the Sun, such that Earth will not be engulfed by the Sun. However, recent studies show that due to tidal interaction with the Sun and Earth, it is likely that the Earth will still be swallowed by the Sun's expansion.

Well then, I guess we won't stay alive for like 3 to 5 billion years, do we?

Back to reality then.

And not to mention, I'm pretty, scared, excited and curious to see the next few events that might or will happen in the next 30 years of my life.

Perhaps some of you might have heard of Apophis 99942, a NEA, or Near Earth Asteroid, that might have caused a concern in December 2004.

The asteroid is predicted to miss Earth in the year 2029. It will then pass through a gravitional keyhole, then come back to Earth in a precise region of space of not more than 400 metres across, setting up for a future impact with the Earth in April 13, 2036. However, after recent studies, the asteroid now has a 1 in 45000 chance of impacting with Earth. But well, anything can happen right?

Another event that can happen, but with an extremely low chance. GRB, or Gamma Ray Bursts. GRBs are created when a star has collapsed and turns into a black hole. The collapsing of energy, due to the core of a rapidly rotating, high-mass star, creates so much energy, that when it becomes a black hole, it releases the energy in a burst of a high gamma ray. A burst can last from a few milliseconds to minutes. However, for a GRB to hit Earth, the GRB has to be directed to Earth. And the ray travels so fast that after a GRB of a nearby collapsed star, the GRB will strike Earth in about a few minutes time. The blast from the GRB will potentially affect the Earth's atmosphere. Not to mention, extreme exposure to civilians on its contact point.

Then now, back to the stuff that we are all familiar about. Global Warming.

10 years ago, do you still remember the temperature?
I remember it was around 26-29 degrees celsius here in 1990s. 10 years later, the temperature has jumped 2 to 4 degrees higher.

By the year 2020, the temperature might rise to near our body heat temperature, if from the measurement of a rise of 2 to 4 degrees in a decade.

Global warming can cause a lot of problems.

One, which I recently read about. Hypercanes.

Hypercanes are a stronger version of hurricanes. Hurricanes disappear once they reach landfall, which is when they cross over land. A hypercane, is an upgraded version, where they can produce wind speeds of up to 800 kilometres per hour. Hurricanes produces heat energy while they are created. Similarly, hypercanes can produce enough heat to the ocean such that it allows more hypercanes to be formed.

Well, the hypercane is a hypothetical class of a tropical cyclone.

Time for the really real deal.

It is predicted that, the ice caps on the Himalayas, will melt away by the year 2035, flooding Myanmar and countries nearby.

Read the rest on the link.

Glaciers in the Himalayas melting at a rapid rate



GOD, I'M A NERD DAMN IT!

Ah well. The only thing I'm concerned is...

Live life to the fullest. Live it just like the way you want it to be.

Remember my friendster tagline.

"One life to live it all."