Ultimate fate of the Universe, computer illustration. The ultimate fate of Universe depends on three things: its overall shape, its total density (content of matter-energy) and the nature of the dark energy, a repulsive force that is accelerating the cosmic expansion and pushing the galaxy clusters apart. Astrophysicists envisage three possible fates for the Universe in the distant future: that it will be ripped apart by the dark energy (Big Rip scenario); that it will collapse in an infinite hot, dense singularity in a reverse of the Big Bang (Big Crunch scenario), or that it will expand forever becoming colder and colder until the temperature reaches absolute zero (0 Kelvin, or minus 273.15 Celsius), a point at which the Cosmos can no longer perform