Imagine the Sun releasing a burst of energy so powerful it could knock out power grids, stop airplanes mid flight, and push our world back into the dark ages. This is...
It may sound like science fiction, but imagining a battle between a gas giant and a black hole helps us understand just how fragile our Solar System really is. Such a...
Imagine humanity rising to a level of power and intelligence that feels beyond anything we have ever known. Picture people traveling between galaxies, controlling the...
The biggest planet in the Solar System. And the smallest star in the known Universe. Today, they are on a collision course. And Earth might not survive this. Meet the...
Deep under Europa’s thick icy surface lies an ocean larger than all of Earth’s oceans combined. But it’s pretty useless way out there. Let’s ship that water back to...
40 km (25 mi) off the coast of Brazil lies an island so dangerous it’s illegal to visit. But rules don’t apply to you. You’re a thrill-seeking...
This is the world 200 million years ago. No cell phones, electricity or even other humans. Would you be able to survive in this new world? Could you get yourself a pet...
Imagine you had to experience an apocalypse every day. Volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, asteroid showers. Every day would be a struggle for survival. That’s because...
Some 13.8 billion years ago, a very hot, small and dense singularity expanded into what we now call the Universe. It hasn't stopped growing since. But what if it did?
Millions of years ago, all the continents were one. Waiting to crack and spread into the world we know today. Thing is, Earth’s ground is constantly moving. So how about...
The monkeys have revolted. And not just with brute strength or violence. Primates have finally outsmarted humankind once and for all. It’s their planet now. How...
Something incredibly strange is unfolding in our cosmic neighborhood, a powerful and unexplained gravitational force is pulling Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar...
The world has ended. The sky has fallen. Doomsday has come and gone. So now what? Let’s start rebuilding civilization, of course. How would you begin to come back from...
[dx_custom_adunit mobile_id=”RTK_v1lP”] All of the systems, beliefs, emotions, and experiences that we call life are taking place on a tiny rock floating...
About 50 billion rogue planets are roaming the Milky Way with no host star to hold on to, some of them three times bigger than the Earth. They don’t give off any...
Get your bone flute and gather around the fire. Today on What If, we’re taking you back to the time of woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. That’s right...
Back in 1846, whaling was one of the most booming industries in the whole world. It was the fifth largest sector in the United States economy, raking in a cool...
At first, it’s very bright. But then, as your eyes adjust to the light, you start to piece together your surroundings. The moving blobs above you, you realize, are...
Could we move to our new moon one day? Or is this one of those scenarios where everybody dies in the end? “Fly me to Mars..” Ahem, where were we? Right, Mars...
As our population grows, we’re going to need a lot more farms to feed the planet. Yet, in a lot of places, farming is almost impossible. And much of the land we...
