PLAN ACCORDINGLY: The Universe ‘Will End in a Big Crunch,’ Physicists Warns. “The universe is nearing the halfway point of what may be a 33-billion-year lifespan, according to new calculations by a Cornell physicist using updated dark energy data. The findings suggest that the cosmos will continue expanding for roughly another 11 billion years before reversing course, contracting back into a single point in a dramatic ‘big crunch.'”