We'd like to believe it will be around

forever, but what if it isn't?

Aliens, comets, weapons of

mass destruction, black holes,

even the Sun could destroy the Earth.

In July of 2019, we had a narrow miss

with asteroid 2019 OK.

It's impact would have been similar

to a nuclear bomb.

And the scariest thing?

Scientists didn't see it coming until

it was too late.

NASA would need a whole year's notice

to stop a doomsday collision.

How would they do that?

They'd launch an object into space

to collide with the asteroid,

destroying it before it got close to Earth.

Barring any more immediate dangers,

Earth wasn't always the diverse paradise

we know it as.

In fact, about 4 billion years ago,

it looked more like something from

a sci-fi movie.

Supervolcanoes, meteors, and a toxic

atmosphere made our planet inhospitable.

So how did it become today's Earth?

It went through many geological,

atmospheric and evolutionary steps.

In fact, Homo sapiens only came into the story

Human life evolved during a time when

the climate was mild and stable,

enabling a vast diversity of life -

something we take for granted.

Today, we are already beginning to see

the effects of rapid changes to our

climate and the destruction it causes.

How will it affect your children?

That may not seem like a lot, but it is

enough to create droughts,

extreme wildfires,

stronger hurricanes,

and food shortages.

Two hundred years into the future,

Hopefully, we spend all that time

between now and then creating new

technology to offset the environmental

destruction and keep up with the

demand for food.

In 300 years,

which means we use all the available

resources on our planet.

If only we could get to Type II and use the

power of the Sun, or even Type III,

which uses galactic power.

These are things that could affect your

direct descendants. But let's jump even

further into the future, when humans

may or may not even be around.

In 100,000 years from now, the biggest star

in the Milky Way, Canis Majoris, will explode.

The supernova will be visible from Earth

in pure daylight.

As this is going on, 20 supervolcanoes

will spew out 417 km³ (100 mi³)

of magma in all directions.

At this point, Earth will be starting to

resemble the planet we saw 4 billion years ago.

In 600 million years, the Sun will begin to

burn up the Earth, as the Sun gets

hotter from its shrinking core.

The only life left on Earth 800 million years

into the future will, once again, be

And 2.8 billion years into the future,

There will be no life left on Earth.

Can we stop this slow demise into a piece

of lifeless rock?

Probably not.

In fact, our current actions might

even be speeding up the process.

Instead, we could work towards prolonging

this calm period in Earth's history

by protecting its life-sustaining ecosystems

and using renewable resources.

The end of the Earth has captured

many people's imaginations.

There are even doomsday groups with specific

theories on how the end will come.

Some people believe that aliens will

show up and wipe us out, maybe

because of our rich natural resources,

or maybe they just won't like us.

Other people believe that we will be sucked

into a planet-destroying black hole

caused by the Large Hadron Collider.

Oh, and don't forget deathly

gamma-ray bursts, which can produce as

much energy in one millisecond as the

Sun does in its entire lifetime.

What about us?

Can we destroy the Earth with weapons

of mass destruction?

Luckily, no.

We might be able to wipe humanity out,

but to physically destroy the Earth

is not possible.

The most powerful explosive device

detonated - so far- is the Soviet-built

Tsar Bomba, also called Big Ivan.

The 50 megaton hydrogen bomb detonated

in 1961 in the Arctic, was over 3,000 times

more powerful than the bomb that

destroyed Hiroshima.

to obliterate the Earth.

In the long term, the Earth will eventually die.

But hopefully we can fend of any immediate

disasters, and use that time to figure out a way

to continue our existance through

technological and biological advances.

How would the human race react to news

that the Earth, like any living organism,

is on its way toward the great beyond?

Would it divide or unify us?

Even though the Earth will die - whether that's

sooner or later - we can make it a better

place while we're here.

For now, this is all we've got.

So let's take better care of the environment,

maybe stay away from weapons of mass

destruction, we don't want to risk a

World War III...