Where do you guys think the human race will go when the sun eventually burns out, or if something else unexpected happens that'll force us to go elsewhere. Do you think there are other solar systems with life possibilites out there. I mean, would it be possible to build up a whole new Earth on some distant planet?

By the time the Sun burns up there'll be no humans around anywhere to see it.
Man we'll be lucky if we make it into the next millennium...

Very pessimistic of you.

We've survived the last 10 millenia, I don't see why the next one will be any different. But the sun doesn't burn out for 5 billion years. 5 billion year ago we were very different animals to what we are now - in 5 billion years time, if we do survive, we won't be what you'd call "human" any more.

But yes, I don't see why space colonisation is out of the question.

To make the Earth a spaceship that travels the darkness of the universe would be cool. We' probably be dead before we get that far ahead.

And how would we survive without the sunlight?

(Oh, and we'll definately be dead by then)

If we could make earth into a ship we'll probably know how to survive without the sun lol. We'll have a better chance creating some kind of AI that will solve the sun problem somehow. It will probably out survive us though lol. We'll have to upgrade ourselves into some kind of cybernetic machines then maybe we can survive till we have that sun problem

Yes, There's that high chance of possibility of a earthlike planet out there. but as of now we have no way to travel into space. We can't even go to our neighbor ( mars ).

Yes we can, we just haven't yet.

If our Sun burns out theres no point in colonizing our solar neighbors...

then again, who's to say the government isn't already working on something along these lines? A sort of emergency plan or something.

we are traveling through space right now on our blue orb its great to us we need to be great to it back!

How is possible to someone be optimistic today? The way we are destructing the planet it will be very difficult for our species to survive.

The global warming will turn the amazon forest in a desert in the next 50 years, the climate will change to the point millions of people will die. Sadly we are creating the conditions to a catastrophic future where life will be very difficult to sustain.



Nice butt

The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking said Tuesday.

"It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species," Hawking said. "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of."

SPACE.com -- Hawking Says Humans Must Colonize Space

I will completely agree with this. Nature itself is a very destructive force. Also, it is not a matter of IF we will be hit by
a huge asteroid, comet etc. but WHEN. Then we have to concider the ever present climate changes that seem to go
through cycles! All these events could easily put a toll on the survival of our species as we know it today.



Regards,
Tom

Yeah Tommy, but i think Hawkings was emphasizing more on man wiping himself out before any natural disaster ever will...

That ''genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of." bit that got me thinking lol!

For anyone who hasn't seen it; Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out Of Balance) is well worth check'n out.


Later.

The idea of colonising planets in a neighbouring solar system is not ridiculous. We don't have the technology to do it at the moment, but technology moves forwards rapidly.

I suspect that - as an interim step - we will probably terraform Mars to make a 'second earth' within our solar system. We may also be able to subsequently exploit raw materials in the asteroids etc.

Meow Purr.

I agree. If you think that on other planets almost identical evolution of civilizations took place, then they also entered an age of machines and bioengineering as we have barely stepped into. At some point the machinery we constantly carry will be incorporated and then our own bodies engineered to replicate the needs at birth.

Add this to travel through space and it is very likely that we would be identified in the far future by those more primitive not as their version of a human but rather as gods. One of our children would have more creative or destructive power at their finger tips than all of their planet's population combined.

just look at how far we've gotten over the past hundred years. Who knows what another hundred years will get us with technology advancing day by day

Another problem facing us in the future is 'global/over population'...obviously with that 'comes all the other associated problems'.

Just sum stats i scoped out:
Our current population (19/3/2008); 6795006575 Billion <-- @ last count.
Going by the clock in the year 2037 (as far as the clock goes) our global population will be 10299371453 Billion.
World Population (Clock)

I'm no mathmagician but that means in say around the year 2067 that would make the GP well over 20 Billion. According to the clock we're adding approx 10 billion to the planet every 30 years, give or take a few...

So if in fact we even make it say in a 1000 years from now that would mean...
Sought of raises the question, are we or the planet gonna survive that kinda impact?

Correct
We'll be lucky i f we make it into 5 years more.
Past the 2012

6 billion people on the earth. I doubt everyone will fit in a space ship to go to another planet once our sun begins to die. Who decided who gets to go? How will the ones left behind to die feel about that? Storm the ship and destroy it so no one goes?

If the planet is on the verge of a cataclysmic earth obliviating catastrophe...
It'll be leave all them poor peasants behind to kill & fend for themselves space-age galactic Noah's Ark for the global rich & powerful, all the top scientists/military brass, engineers, doctors etc, etc, etc aaannnd etc.



obliviating; is that even a word?

If the world get's too populated, there will be more natural disasters because of all the people breathing out carbon dioxide. So more will die and it will balance out. Crul and impersonal I know. Atleast I think that is waht will happen.

Yes, yes...of course. The scientific evidence is overwhelming.
We are indeed destructing this planet...

Despite the fact that the entire 100 year warming of this planet has been shown to have been reversed this past winter...the coldest globally in observed history.

Greenland will melt and bury New York City underwater in 20 years, and now the Amazon Rainforest will be a desert in 50...

Man...

It is possible to be optimistic for rational and critically thinking people who realize what humanity is capable of, who observe what is actually happening, and who do not succumb to prevalent nonsense.

emma was referring to the fact that the Sun isn't going anywhere for 5 billion years...a longer period by about 2500 times that in which humanity has existed in any form on this planet.

If you honestly think that humanity can have any pronouced effect on the global environment through the influx of miniscule amounts of CO2....well...



Read the statement....it's not hers....

If humans live for another 200 or 300 more years I would say that we are going to be around for millions of years maybe longer, or at least the human descendants like human evolved even farther. If we do not last that long then it won't matter, we'll be dead. So if we last a few more centuries I think we may in future have more Earth-worlds and yes maybe in a few thousand years, artificial worlds may be made.