Photo: aryos (Getty)
The way things are going, I would be shocked if this planet makes it to 2020.
Stephen Hawking, who knows all there is to know about everything, is back to depressing us all with another one of his lovely predictions. This time around he says that by the year 2600 the entire planet will turn into a big “ball of fire.” Hey, thanks a lot, Stephen.
Speaking via radio link in Beijing, Hawking says that soaring population and demands for energy will be the reason that we will all eventually burn to a crisp. So what does the 75-year-old think we should all do? Get the hell off this planet.
Hawking says his Breakthrough Starshot project could be the first step on the way. Professor Hawking said that he hoped that tiny spaceships propelled by beams of light could reach Alpha Centauri within his audience’s lifetime.
Hawking says, “Such a system could reach Mars in less than an hour, or reach Pluto in days, pass Voyager in under a week and reach Alpha Centauri in just over 20 years.”
Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to the Solar System, so naturally that would be the best bet.
The Breakthrough Starshot spacecraft would travel at a fifth of the speed of light. So with that said, will people still be on this planet by the year 2600? I highly doubt it, but if there is anyone left, well, you better find yourself another planet to live on.
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