Random Theories About the Universe That Will Keep You Up at Night (13 items)

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  (#1) The First Thing Aliens Will See From Humanity Is Hitler

  Carl Sagan was a visionary man, gracing the world with his intelligence and imagination. In his book Contact, he theorized that the first thing aliens would see of us was Hitler. Turns out that the first signal broadcast powerful enough to break past Earth's atmosphere was Hitler's opening speech at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, so there's a good chance that's the first communication aliens would pick up. Hopefully they won't judge us too harshly... 
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  (#2) Venus Is What Earth Will Become Due to Climate Change

  Earth and Venus have been called "twins separated at birth." They have very similar size, mass, and composition... only one sustains life and the other is a galactic wasteland. The reason for that is Venus' atmosphere mostly consists of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which has cooked the surface of the planet to 870 degrees Fahrenheit. As we're sure you know, people are pretty concerned about the level of carbon dioxide going up on Earth too.

  It might be time to stock up on sunscreen. 
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  (#3) Here's What Happens When You Fall into a Black Hole

  Black holes are pretty freaky things. The closer you get to the center, the more space and time become completely meaningless. It's been theorized you would be hanging in nothingness for all eternity or shredded apart into the smallest possible pieces. Either way, it's pretty certain you it won't go as well for you as it did for Matthew Mcconaughey in Interstellar.
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  (#4) Time Is Literally Running Out

  While some scientists believe the expansion of the universe is accelerating, some theorize that distant celestial bodies only seem that way because we're looking back in time to see them (remember, it takes a while for their light to reach us). So, that means that they were moving faster in the past than they are in now... which means time is slowing down. 

  How much is it slowing down? We don't know - but if the theory is correct it may just slow to a stop. 
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  (#5) The Universe Is a Computer Simulation

  The Matrix may be real, according to Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrum. He suggested that an advanced civilization, with enough computer power, could run a simulation elaborate enough to create artificial minds, physics, and everything else in our universe. Right now, you might just be a really complex set of 1s and 0s. 
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  (#6) Before the Big Bang, There Was Nothing

  Yup. Literally nothing. According to Stephen Hawking, if this were true, the universe "would be neither created nor destroyed. It would just be." The creepy part: if there was nothing before the Big Bang, how long did it last before the universe started? And you thought it was tough waiting between seasons of your favorite shows... 
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  (#7) White Holes Are Apparently a Thing

  Everyone knows about black holes, but apparently their opposites exist. Unlike their darker cousins, white holes cannot be entered, but matter and light are constantly escaping from them. The real creepy part is, where is all this stuff coming from? Could it be the exit of a black hole?
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  (#8) The Universe Is So Big, We'll Never Meet Another Civilization

  There are a lot of planets out there. So many that, statistically speaking, alien life simply has to exist in one form of another. But if that's true... where they heck are they? Well, the Fermi Paradox sees that discrepancy and theorizes that it's either much harder for life to exist than we thought, or more life has existed and simply been destroyed over time. Either way, we'd be very alone. 
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  (#9) The Universe Is Going to Rip Itself Apart

  Instead of collapsing in on itself, another theorized way the universe could end would be expanding so much it'll eventually rip itself to pieces. Galaxies, solar systems, everything down to its atoms will be split apart. If that does happen, lucky for you it'll be a while from now. 
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  (#10) The Big Bang Came from Already-Existing Universes

  String theory says that there shouldn't be just one universe, but a whole lot of them floating out there. How was ours crafted? Well, speculation is that the Big Bang came from other universes splitting apart or crashing together. Does it make us less unique? Sure. But look on the bright side - if that's true, that means we're not as alone as we thought. 
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  (#11) The Universe Will Collapse In On Itself

  According to a paper published in the Physical Review Letters, the existence of dark energy in the universe could mean that we only have a few tens of billions of years left before the universe will collapse in on itself. Apparently, the expansion of the universe is much larger than we thought... which means eventually it'll become too big and come crashing down. Bummer. 
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  (#12) Our Universe Is a Marble

  Men in Black is a weird movie, but no moment in the film is weirder than the end. The camera pulls back through the entire universe just to discover... it's a marble being played with by an alien. If that's true, it makes you wonder why life isn't more bumpy than it already is. 
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  (#13) There's an Equation for How Alone We Are in the Universe

  Dr. Frank Drake wanted to know how many extraterrestrial civilizations we could possibly communicate with, so in 1961 he wrote the Drake Equation, which estimates the number of civilizations with which we could possibly make contact. The equation itself has come under scrutiny for using "educated guesses" as parameters, so it's impossible to get an accurate measurement. 

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