How Neil deGrasse Tyson Predicted The End Of The World

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the world's most respected astrophysicists, who combines his exceptional understanding of the laws that govern the known universe with an aptitude for sharing his passion for space with audiences that don't necessarily have scientific training. His enthusiasm is infectious, and over his long career in the public eye, he has amassed millions of fans, fronted several high-profile TV shows, and published a number of bestselling books. He is considered the modern-day version of the beloved cosmologist Carl Sagan and was the host and executive editor of the reboot of Sagan's flagship space TV show "Cosmos" in 2014.

Physics and the study of space are liable to fill a person with a sense of wonder, and deGrasse Tyson's work, like Sagan's, gives one a sense of the miraculous nature of existence. However, the astrophysicist has also shown himself to be something of a realist when it comes to humanity's future in space, claiming that he thinks we'll never go to Mars due to it representing a poor return on investment for those who might fund such a venture. Indeed, deGrasse Tyson has also been open about the destruction of the world, with both short and long-term prognoses as to humanity's ultimate demise.

It's no secret that Earth is not going to be around forever. Speaking to journalist Piers Morgan in 2022, Neil deGrasse Tyson explained how all stars, including our Sun at the center of our galaxy, have a set lifespan. At some point, the Sun will use up all its hydrogen, leading it to eventually enter its red giant phase and expand to engulf nearby planets, including Earth.

"Our atmosphere will evaporate away into interplanetary space and the oceans will boil off as Earth becomes a red-hot, charred ember orbiting deep within the Sun," deGrasse Tyson wrote in "Natural History" back in 1996, an essay now published on his website. "Eventually, the Sun will cease all nuclear fusion, lose its spherical, tenuous, gaseous envelope, and expose its dying central core."

Thankfully, this expansion will not occur for another 5 billion years, when the Sun's 10-billion-year lifecycle reaches its end, according to deGrasse Tyson. Back in 1996, he suggested that humanity would have to work out a way of leaving the Solar System before that time to continue to survive. From more recent comments, it appears he has become more pessimistic about our chances of doing that.

Indeed, Neil deGrasse Tyson seems convinced there is a real possibility that humanity has entered its final century of existence. "We might have 100 years on Earth," he told Piers Morgan back in 2022. Tyson explained there are "Earth issues that require geopolitical solutions," which at present humanity seems unable to solve. 

In another part of the interview, deGrasse Tyson and Morgan discuss the so-called "Big Rip," a hypothesized tearing of space-time itself that deGrasse Tyson himself claims to be "terrified" of, despite it only being due to occur 22 billion years into the future. In response to Morgan's questioning whether the Big Rip would be preventable, deGrasse Tyson makes it clear that the previous "Earth issues" he noted included the need to face up to the reality of our impact on Earth's climate. "We can't stop climate change, apparently ... and we're going to stop the Big Rip?" deGrasse Tyson said. "We're incompetent on so many levels."

But even minds as brilliant as Neil deGrase Tyson's can't be right all of the time. Here are some basic facts Neil deGrasse Tyson has gotten wrong over the years.