The night sky on Earth (assuming it survives) will change dramatically as our Milky Way galaxy merges with its neighbors and distant galaxies recede beyond view.

The quickening expansion will eventually pull galaxies apart faster than light, causing them to drop out of view. This process eliminates reference points for measuring expansion and dilutes the distinctive products of the big bang to nothingness. In short, it erases all the signs that a big bang ever occurred.

To our distant descendants, the universe will look like a small puddle of stars in an endless, changeless void.

Click here to view a slideshow of the evolution of the night sky.

9 Comments

1. 1. sampablokuper 11:44 AM 2/26/08

   "Faster than light"? Is that correct, SciAm?

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. Nullsession 05:21 PM 2/26/08

   Yes. Space can expand faster than light. Space is not a "thing" or information moving faster than light, so it is allowed and what we believe is happening as the Universe continues to accelerate its expansion.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. Morderme2 08:15 PM 2/26/08

   Some crazy, fanciful thinking here:
   Once the local super cluster has collect all it mighty mass into one humungus black hole and all of the other galaxies are too far away, moving away at faster than the speed of light, wouldn't the universe have effectively broken itself into pieces? No one or nothing near a local Humungus black hole could ever reach another one out there.
   And in these new, spawned universe pieces, the difference between the infinite density of the black hole and the incredible "thinness" of space, wouldn't there be a point where something would happen to try to balance out it out? There must be a tipping point that would cause the black hole to explode? Is there any physics to back such an idea? Could that be how new universes are born from the explosion of matter out into the virtual nothingness?
   Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. jamesmoseley 10:18 PM 2/26/08

   Great Scott! So we are at the center of the universe. Do ya see the "red flags" here? I say we're missing some information.
   jim
   Dallas

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

5. 5. Peggym 06:51 AM 2/27/08

   Thank you for the beautiful artwork. I enjoyed it just for itself.
   
   Peggy

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

6. 6. Peggym 06:53 AM 2/27/08

   Thanks for the beautiful artwork. I enjoyed it for itself alone.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

7. 7. ARichey 04:31 PM 3/5/08

   Beautiful artwork. Too bad Earth will not last as a viable planet to see our galaxy isolated in the void. AR

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

8. 8. scrudd 11:26 AM 11/13/09

   Black holes emit radiation from their poles.
   Once a black hole has finished gobbling up all the matter that can venture over its event horizon it will continue to spew out radiation until it has shrunk to zero mass

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

9. 9. Taafele123 03:31 PM 9/30/12

   Space has no mass so it needs no energy to move or expand.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this