THE COMING GALATIC YEAR

As Earth begins its next galactic year, the same processes that have shaped our planet will continue. Geologists predict that the Pacific Ocean will be subducted under the Eurasian and North American Plates, and the Atlantic Ocean will expand, pushing the North American and Asian continents together. It is thought that this possible new super-continent, called "Amasia" will be formed around 100 million years from now. The Sun will grow much brighter due to aging, and this will eventually evaporate Earth's oceans, reducing the planet to a hot desert, with liquid water at the poles. Without the lubricating effect of the oceans, plate tectonics will cease. As the Sun begins dying, in around 5 billion years from now, it will become a red giant star that will consume the Earth's atmosphere, leaving only a barren, molten world. Eventually, Earth will become a dead, frigid husk orbiting a long dead star, but both the Earth and the Sun will continue their patient journey around the Milky Way.