475-end-of-cosmology-dixon – A panoramic, four-panel chronological progression visualizes the ultimate structural evolution and decay of the universe over trillions of years. The first panel shows a vibrant ocean shoreline under a brilliant night sky dense with galactic stars. The second panel transitions to a desiccated, craggy alien landscape beneath a massive colliding galactic system rich with dust lanes. The third panel depicts an undulating, dark liquid expanse under a single, fading elliptical galaxy of aging stars. In the final panel the last stars wink out and the frozen cinder that is earth's surface is blasted smooth by a trillion years of micrometeorite bombardments. Only a few stars relieve the eternal night. created for Scientific American.
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