Earth's Oxygen Levels to Collapse in 1 Billion Years

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NASA-backed research reveals Earth's oxygen will disappear in about one billion years, making our planet uninhabitable.

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These quarter-inch workers build five-foot-tall mounds containing between 30,000 to 16 million insects - the largest above-ground ant colonies.

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As the Sun grows hotter and brighter over time, it will break down carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the essential gas plants need to make oxygen.

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Scientists predict oxygen levels could start dropping in as little as 10,000 years, eventually decreasing a million-fold.

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When this happens, the ozone layer will collapse, exposing Earth to deadly ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

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What will Earth look like without oxygen? The atmosphere will fill with methane, resembling conditions from billions of years ago.

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Humans, animals, and most plants won't survive this change - only tiny microorganisms that don't need oxygen will remain.

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"Even a planet like Earth won't stay habitable forever," warns researcher Christopher Reinhard from the study published in Nature Geoscience.

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This discovery is changing how scientists search for alien life - planets without oxygen might still harbor life forms we haven't considered.

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While this oxygen apocalypse won't happen in our lifetime, it places our existence in a cosmic timeline where humans occupy just a tiny moment.

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Want to know more about Earth's billion-year oxygen countdown and what it means for our planet's future? Read the full article.

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