"And the Earth will turn into a flaming ball": Stephen Hawking predicted the death of mankind

British scientist Stephen Hawking has come up with another "cheerful" apocalyptic theory, saying that humanity will perish around the year 2600, after the Earth turns into a "flaming fireball." Salvation, according to the physicist, should be sought on other planets.

Source: Metro

During a speech via video link at the Tencent WE summit in Beijing, British scientist Stephen Hawking said that within the next five centuries, humanity could be destroyed.

The cause of the catastrophe on Earth, according to the scientist, may be the overpopulation of the planet and an increase in energy consumption, which, in turn, will lead to a global catastrophe no later than 2600. The British physicist sees salvation in moving to another planet, where there will be life and all the resources necessary for humanity.

Professor Hawking urged investors to support his Breakthrough Starshot project, which involves a journey to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Solar System. The scientist believes that a habitable planet can revolve around it.

Breakthrough Starshot is a research and engineering project within the framework of the Breakthrough Initiatives program to develop the concept of a fleet of interstellar spaceships using a light sail, called StarChip. This type of spacecraft, according to the authors, will be able to travel to the Alpha Centauri star system, 4.37 light-years away from Earth, at a speed of up to 20% of the speed of light, which will take about 20 years and about 5 more years to notify the Earth of a successful arrival.

Pete Worden, former head of the Ames Research Center, now managing the Breakthrough Starshot project, also spoke at the event. According to him, in the second half of the XXI century, the first photos of a habitable planet from the orbit of Alpha Centauri can be obtained.