Don’t Panic!

The Earth’s fate is sealed, sad to say. In all likelihood, it’ll be destroyed in roughly six billion years by the death throes of the Sun. But what about the end of the universe? That’s the question I answer in my newest feature article for the BBC.

In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by the late great Douglas Adams, the Earth is destroyed by by a Vogon Constructor Fleet to make room for a new interstellar bypass. In the first sequel, Adams posited a Restaurant at the End of the Universe. He also opened that book with my favorite theory about the end of the universe, which I desperately tried to work into this article:

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

I couldn’t quite manage it, but I did drop a few Adams references – as well as a Doctor Who reference (Adams wrote for the show for many years) and a few others. Share and Enjoy, and feel free to post any questions you have about the article here.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech