What happens if the world is ending?

Answer 1

Don't worry about it. The world is not ending.

There are various means suggested to destroy the planet Earth, or all of the life on it. None of these are very likely, and all have occurred before to a limited extent without resulting in the destruction of the planet or all living things. Prophecies of the end of the world come along every few years, and sometimes specific dates such as 2012 are included. All of these, obviously, have proven false.

World-ending scenarios:

-- asteroid collision (has not occurred for billions of years)

-- solar flares (Earth is sufficiently distant from the Sun to make it improbable)

-- the Sun goes supernova (virtually impossible)

-- rogue planets (none are close by or moving fast enough)

-- rogue stars or black holes (none detected within dozens of light-years)

Life-ending scenarios:

-- Sun cools (solar output fairly well assured for more millions of years)

-- meteor or asteroid impact (none probable for hundreds of years, many pass close by)

-- viral plague (would likely have occurred previously in history)

-- volcanic winter (likely, but none expected anytime soon, for a few centuries)

-- zombie apocalypse (completely fictional, as dead people stay dead)

-- nuclear war (possible, and may occur on a limited basis between countries)