José Funes

A Cosmic End: from the Earth to the Universe

Abstract

The question about the end of the universe is one of the big questions transversal to human culture: Where are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? To address these questions the scientific method is not the only approach but certainly an important one. We can only think the past and the future of the Universe from the its present and from the data we have collected and interpreted and we test our ideas with a reality check. We have a quite a good picture of the early universe. Though there are many unknowns we still have a very good comprehension of the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars and planets. It is a bit uncertain to scientifically predict the future. Our predictions will depend on the different time and space scale that we consider. Thus we can consider the end of Earth, of the Sun, of our Galaxy and of the whole Universe.

In a long-term scenario is obviously hostile to life. This perspective poses many questions. If our location in the universe is crucial for life, will all life will with Earth? Is life a common phenomenon? What will happen with life in trillions and trillions of years when the universe fade? If there are other universes will life survive in those places? What is the Christian perspective on the end of the Universe?

Biography

José Funes is a Jesuit priest, director of the Vatican Observatory, and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. His field of research includes kinematics and dynamics of disk galaxies and star formation in the local universe. He has published about 80 papers in referee journals and conference proceedings. He is co-editor of 3 volumes with the proceedings of two conferences on the formation and evolution of disk galaxies and a study-week on Astrobiology.