Timeline of the far future

A chronological forecast of distant future events, from changes to Earth and the Solar System to the long-term fate of the universe. Its dates are estimates based on physical models, not a fixed schedule.

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Earth's future: The projected long-term evolution of Earth’s climate, geology, orbit, and habitability. Earth’s habitability is among the timeline’s earliest major planetary milestones.
Stellar evolution: The sequence of structural and chemical changes a star undergoes over its lifetime. It predicts the Sun’s transformation and the eventual fading of other stars.
Cosmic expansion: The increase over time of distances between gravitationally unbound regions of the universe. Expansion determines whether distant galaxies remain accessible and shapes the universe’s long-term evolution.
Big Rip: A hypothetical cosmic ending in which accelerated expansion eventually tears apart bound structures. It contrasts with gradual cooling and dilution if dark energy evolves in a particular way.
Future of the Sun: The Sun’s predicted evolution from its present main-sequence phase through its eventual stellar remnant. Solar brightening and later expansion shape Earth’s prospects and the inner Solar System.
Main sequence: The long-lived stellar phase in which a star fuses hydrogen into helium in its core. The Sun’s remaining time in this phase sets the approximate timing of major solar changes.
Dark energy: The name for whatever drives the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. Its unknown nature limits confidence in forecasts of the universe’s ultimate fate.
Big Crunch: A hypothetical future collapse in which cosmic expansion reverses and the universe contracts. It is a contrasting endpoint that current observations do not favor.
Red giant: A luminous, expanded late stage in the evolution of a low- or intermediate-mass star. The Sun’s red-giant phase is a defining event in the Solar System’s distant future.
Orbital dynamics: The study of how gravitational forces govern the motion of celestial bodies. Long-term orbital changes influence planetary stability and the fate of the Solar System.