For now, at least, the Big Crunch hypothesis has been disproven by a group of scientists based in Europe and Australia. Using an infrared telescope, they measured the abundance of deuterium molecules in a certain part of the Orion Nebula. As a previous post suggests, they have determined that there is simply not enough matter in the universe to counteract the process of expansion that began with the Big Bang. What will happen instead? Most astronomers seem to think that the universe will end not in fire, but in ice. Billions, probably trillions, of years from now, all the stars will have burnt out, the nebulae will have exhausted their fuel, and the planets will be nothing more than cold rocks. Perhaps this is an anticlimactic ending, and it certainly lacks the attractive symmetry of the Big Crunch, but it seems to be the best anyone has to suggest.