What disasters could destroy Earth in under a couple of years?

Okay, barring nuclear fallout, super volcano eruptions, the impact of a large asteroid, and global warming, what other cataclysmic events could cause Earth to be completely unlivable in under a few years?

I'm trying to create a script in which something happens to Earth making it no longer able to support life forcing humanity to "abandon ship" and seek out a new planet. Humanity would need enough time to create colony ships so the disaster couldn't be instantaneous (hence the full disaster taking a couple of years to play out), yet complete enough to where there is no other choice. This forum seems like the best place to post so, any ideas folks?

If anyone comes up with some good ideas and I actually get this work published, I'll gladly list you in the credits. Thanks in advance.

 

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How about a poleshift?

It's the year 3,250,225,288. The moon has receded continuously in it's orbit and has dissapeared due to the gravity of the sun. Since the moon stabilized the spin axis of the earth in a difficult game of orbit perputuations, the so called chaotic zone starts, where resonance between tilt cycle and precession cycle causes the spin axis of the Earth to oscilate heavily. Now inside the Earth a complicated mechanism brings the solid inner core totally off balance aggravating the general motions. Earth is doomed to end up like Venus, where the same has happened.

We must get off quickly.

 

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It may seem ridiculuous but at least the first part of the scenario is fully covered scientifically. The second part is not (yet) but it is within physical possibilities and would explain an awful lot of things.

 

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Thats a bit far in the future dont you think? I dont think we would even be here on thsi planet in that year, in about a billion years our planet is going to be already too hot to stay on.

 

Lmao. Where the hell did you get that idea?

 

I do not get that movie.

Hm, a large enough solar flare could do the trick. Or, a hypernova blast close enough for its winds to gently blow away our atmsophere.

Ice 9 would do the trick also. Kidding.

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Both the hypernova blast and the moon's recession sound pretty interesting. I like the blast idea because it has the potential to happen in our modern time and my story will be taking place less than a century from now. I think I will do some research along those lines. Any more ideas gentlemen?

BTW, TheMatrixIsReal....... you're fired!

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Just kidding.

 

How about Nemisis??

Nemesis may be the suns twin star, invented by Prof Richard Muller. It orbits around in a 26 million years orbit and when it passes, the debris in its wake creates multiple meteorite impacts usually leading to mass extinctions. This would not destroy the Earth normally. Astronomers have now discovered Nemesis and were able to calculate the next passage along the Earth in a couple of years. This time the passage will be so close that the gravity may tear the Earth into pieces or destabilize its orbat, causing it to crash into the sun or be ejected out of the solar system, whatever you like.

 

Nemesis. Interesting. I never even heard of this theory before.

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I have heard about Nemesis, although I do not think it was proven.

 

No it's not proven and frankly I do have my doubts. If another star gets that close to our solar system, you would expect the orbits of the planets to get disturbed significantly. Yet the general state of the planets orbits look rather regular. But it remains a facinating idea of course.

 

How about if humanity gave up hope?

 

Thats odd, but still a logical way for the world to 'end'.

 

Hey now, dont diss Titan A.E. Its one of my favorite movies... It really is actually quite a good movie. That one doesnt need sound science to be good, afterall its a cartoon and way in the future... Its a scifi

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Later
T

 

For starters, a 3 to 5 mile wide asteroid impacting in the center of Yellowstone Lake, which is the home of the worlds largest Supervolcano and is approx. 40,000 years overdue for an eruption should do the trick.........

Yob Atta

 

For enders, that one was excluded

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If you don't think it's possible for a 3 to 5 mile wide asteroid to impact in Yellowstone, then think back about 25,000 years ago when a small asteroid or meteor impacted near Winslow Arizona.......A few seconds longer and a slightly higher latitude and it could have. It was almost on line with Yellowstone.

Yob Atta

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Not another doomsday thread.

The only thing that would obliterate the earth completely is if we collide with another planet larger than Mars. Period.

 

Probably 10,000 hungry T-Rexs unleased at the next Superbowl game should do the job........If you don't think they can't get the job done then add another 5,000 for good measure!

Yob Atta

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Suppose a pulsar neutron star passed through our Solar System. Not only would its gravity completely screw up the orbits of the planets, but the microwave beams from its magnetic poles could strip away our atmosphere and oceans within hours. If it came within a million miles or so of Earth, tidal effects would tear the planet to pieces.

Such an object could be on its way right now - as long as its rotational axis is oriented so that we don't currently lie in the plane of the bipolar microwave beams, astronomers might not spot the neutron star until it began disrupting planetary orbits. After all, it would be only 10 - 30 km in diameter.