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Birthday · September 22, 2007

Pangea Ultima: Earth in 250 Million Years?

September 22, 2007

Every birthday is a reminder that you are made of the same material as the stars overhead — carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, all cooked in stellar...

Pangea Ultima: Earth in 250 Million Years?

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APOD published September 22, 2007. Credit: C. R. Scotese (U. Texas at Arlington), PALEOMAP. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

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Pangea Ultima: Earth in 250 Million Years?

Original APOD · September 22, 2007

Is this what will become of the Earth's surface? The surface of the Earth is broken up into several large plates that are slowly shifting. About 250 million years ago, the plates on which the present-day continents rest were positioned quite differently, so that all the landmasses were clustered together in one supercontinent now dubbed Pangea. About 250 million years from now, the plates are again projected to reposition themselves so that a single landmass dominates. The above simulation from the PALEAOMAP Project shows this giant landmass: Pangea Ultima. At that time, the Atlantic Ocean will be just a distant memory, and whatever beings inhabit Earth will be able to walk from North America to Africa. APOD editor to review best space pictures in Philadelphia on Wednesday

Image credit: C. R. Scotese (U. Texas at Arlington), PALEOMAP

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