Despite what you may think, the universe is not necessarily a friendly place. Sure, things here on Earth have been pretty stable over the past few millennia, allowing human civilization to gain a foothold. But that could change at any time. Disaster lurks everywhere, from the deepest reaches of space to the very bowels of our planet. We've recruited nine prominent Canadian scientists (and one science fiction writer) and asked them to imagine how they think the world might end. We bring you The Quirks & Quarks Guide to the End of the World -- it's cataclysmically fun!
Our top ten list of civilization-destroying events:
1. Dr. Ray Jayawardhana, Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics at the University of Toronto, explains what will happen when the expanding sun engulfs the earth and roasts the planet.
2. Dr. Vicki Kaspi, a Professor of Physics at McGill University, explores the irradiating effects of a giant gamma ray burst.
3. Dr. Laura Ferrarese, a Senior Researcher at the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics in Victoria, suggests that a rogue black hole may set its voracious appetite on Earth.
4. Dr. Peter Brown, a researcher with the Meteor Physics Group at the University of Western Ontario, tells us what will happen if a giant asteroid plunges into Earth and pulverizes us.
5. Dr. Richard Peltier, Director of the Centre for Global Change Science at the University of Toronto, has a chilling scenario: the earth becomes a Popsicle planet and puts a freeze on photosynthesis.
6. Dr. Jo-Anne Brown, an Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Calgary, explains what would happen if the galactic magnetic cloud were to collapse.
7. Dr. Sabine Stanley, an Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Toronto, says the reversal of Earth's magnetic field may cause us some trouble.
8. Dr. Peter Sutherland, a Professor at McMaster University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, explores what would happen if a nearby star were to go supernova.
9. Dr. Sarah Barnes, a Canada Research Chair in Magmatic Metallogeny at the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi, talks about the possibility of a gigantic super-volcano blowing us to smithereens.
10. Canadian SF writer Robert J. Sawyer imagines an Earth under alien invasion.