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Since the beginning of civilizations, mankind has been interested in discovering the mysteries beyond the planet and the possible causes that could destroy life on Earth. Movies, books, and television series have presented apocalyptic scenarios, in which some hypotheses are mentioned about the reasons for the end of humans.
By: The Herald
However, the answer to what the end of the world will look like may be closer to being known. According to science popularizer and particle physicist Javier Santolalla, a collision between the planet and Mars could potentially end life on Earth; This hypothesis may be far-fetched, but it is based on a fundamental principle of physics, the Poincaré Recurrence Theorem.
How likely is Mars to collide with Earth?
The Poincaré Recurrence Theorem states that after a sufficient amount of time, any dynamical system will return to a state close to its starting point: “If a dynamical system is confined in a finite space and conserves energy, any initial state will spontaneously return to its original state after a sufficiently long, but finite, time.
This means that in the long run, Earth and Mars could find themselves in orbits that lead to a collision. But there are various factors that can interfere with the collision, such as gravitational interactions with other planets and minor perturbations in the orbits, making a collision between the two planets unlikely. However, this is a possible scenario.
When will the collision between the two planets occur?
Although experts believe that a collision between Earth and Mars is possible, the chances of this happening are very low, and if something like this happens, it will happen in the very distant future, which will bypass the human time scale. So it's almost impossible, but not completely ruled out.
Another possible scenario that could end human life on Earth is the explosion of the Sun. According to scientists, when the Sun completes its life cycle, life on Earth will end as the star's demise will trigger a series of cataclysmic events, a fact that keeps researchers around the world on alert.
