5 ways the universe is trying to kill us | Sara Webb | TEDxSwinburne University

The universe is indifferent to human existence and poses several threats, including asteroid impacts, potential alien encounters, and the eventual death of the sun. While the odds of a catastrophic asteroid impact or alien invasion are low, the sun's eventual expansion and engulfment of Earth is inevitable, highlighting the fragility and impermanence of life. Despite this, there's hope for humanity's continued survival if we can discover and colonize a new Earth-like planet.

Asteroid Impacts

• 00:01:25 Asteroids pose a threat to Earth, as evidenced by the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Benu, a near-Earth asteroid, has a small chance of impacting Earth in 2182, but humanity has developed technology, such as the kinetic impactor, to potentially deflect such threats. The speaker expresses confidence in humanity's ability to counter this threat, making it less of a concern.

Alien Life

• 00:04:21 The speaker discusses the Fermi Paradox, which questions the lack of observable evidence of alien life despite the vastness of the universe and potential for intelligent civilizations. The Drake Equation estimates millions of intelligent species in the universe but deems the likelihood of another in our galaxy as extremely low. The speaker concludes that humanity is likely safe from alien invasion in the foreseeable future.

Sun's Death

• 00:06:44 The speaker describes the inevitable death of the sun, which will expand into a red giant and then a white dwarf. This process will eventually cause the Earth's oceans to evaporate, the atmosphere to be stripped away, and potentially engulf the planet. This event is certain to happen within a billion years, but the speaker expresses hope for humanity's future survival elsewhere in the galaxy.