❄ How the universe ends

The universe is expanding, and the expansion is speeding up, pushed by something we call dark energy — about 68% of everything. If that continues, the most likely ending is the heat death, or Big Freeze.

• In about 100 trillion years new stars stop forming; red dwarfs are the last to shine.
• Then black holes rule, and slowly evaporate over unimaginable times.
• Everything ends at the same cold temperature: no energy left to use.
• Other ideas: a Big Rip, a Big Crunch, or vacuum decay — the Higgs field settling into a new state.