With the impending Apocalypse coming tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 21, we've decided to give you some REAL theories about how the world as we know it could come to an end.
These are real dangers: Everything from super volcanoes, Earth-killing asteroids and even global climate change could destroy civilization as we know it.
Click through to see the science behind each of these end-of-days scenarios. And no, there's no Mayan calendar involved in any of them.
When the sun becomes a red giant, it will vaporize the Earth.
ETA: 8 billion years
Likelihood: Gonna happen eventually
The sun goes through phases of activity every 11 years. We are currently at the peak of the cycle, but really, it's been one of the weaker "active" phases we've seen lately.
In the long run, though, the sun continues to age. As it gets older and older it will brighten and heat up — in about 8 billion years it will expand into a red giant and engulf the inner solar system.
The Earth will likely be vaporized. From Universe Today:
The heating Sun will evaporate the Earth’s oceans away, and then solar radiation will blast away the hydrogen from the water. The Earth will never have oceans again. It will eventually become molten again.
Hopefully, humanity will either die out by then, or will have found a way to make a home in some other solar system, or move to a planet on the outer reaches of our own. In these outer planets, water that is currently frozen will melt to liquid water as the habitability zone increases. Maybe Pluto will take us in?
A giant asteroid will hit Earth, causing widespread super tsunamis, volcanic activity and possibly even breaking a chunk off our precious planet.
ETA: Probably within a few Millennia?
Likelihood: Very likely
NASA's Near Earth Object Program detects, tracks and estimates the danger of asteroids and comets that approach Earth. If a large asteroid were to hit the Earth, it could cause major tsunamis, volcanic and plate tectonic actions, possibly toppling our society.
This is exactly what happened 65 million years ago, when an asteroid impact killed off all the dinosaurs and 70 percent of species on the planet. The asteroid was about 6 miles across and struck just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula.
Dust and volcanic ash clouded the atmosphere, and green house gasses caused the temperature of the planet to skyrocket. The impact could also create super tsunamis, cause earthquakes and volcano eruptions.
Will it happen again? Very likely yes. Eventually.
But, NASA's got their eyes on the skies to save us: Steve Chesley, of NASA, told the Discovery Channel that at present they are tracking well over 1,000 near-Earth asteroids and several hundred of those could be dangerous. NASA estimates that there are 4,500 out there that could doom Earth.
Interestingly, there was a just-discovered asteroid that swung between the Earth and the Moon last week. Many researchers are calling for governments to put an "Armageddon"-style plan in place in case we do discover an asteroid headed our way.
Robots and artificial intelligence will outstrip our intelligence and take over the world.
ETA: The next few centuries
Likelihood: We could probably avoid it if we are smart. But we aren't.
While they still have many weaknesses, robots are becoming more advanced everyday.
There is a new robot in Japan with muscles and bones allow it to have more human-like movements, and there is one robot that can turn itself into almost any shape. These advances along with that of artificial Intelligence could one day cause a robot uprising.
Cambridge University researchers, led by Huw Price, are studying dangers to humanity, which include robot uprising. Scientists said that dismissing this concern would be dangerous, according to the BBC:
"It seems a reasonable prediction that some time in this or the next century intelligence will escape from the constraints of biology," Prof Price told the AFP news agency.
"What we're trying to do is to push it forward in the respectable scientific community."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider