The famous physicist and popularizer of science Stephen Hawking is confident that the human race will die on Earth when our planet turns into a fireball.

Hawking made such a forecast during the video communication with the participants of the Tencent WE summit in Beijing, the New York Post.

According to the scientist, the population of the Earth will grow, energy consumption will increase, and the planet itself will turn into a "blazing fireball". He said that people should "bravely go to places where no one has walked", if humanity plans to live another million years.

Hawking urged investors to support his project Breakthrough Starshot, which involves a journey to Alpha Centauri - the closest to the solar system star. Around her, the scientist believes, a suitable planet can rotate.

The aircraft of the project Breakthrough Starshot at the speed of light can reach the star in just twenty years, said the physicist.

"Maybe if everything goes well, somewhere a little later than the middle of the century, we will have our first image of another planet that revolves around the nearest star," said Hawking.

Source: HB.