Original Description:
If the observations of cosmic acceleration featured in the NOVA program "Runaway Universe" are correct, then the universe will probably continue to expand forever. Does this mean that the universe will always contain its galaxies and stars and black holes? Well, no. Nothing lasts forever, not even the stellar objects that populate the galaxies.
To find out what the fate of the universe is likely to be, and to learn about its past and present, check out this timeline.
Images: (1-5) From a simulation of the Formation of Galaxies and Large Scale Structure by Michael Norman, Brian O'Shea and Greg Bryan, Grand Challenge Cosmology Consortium (GC3), and visualized by Donna Cox, Stuart Levy, Robert Patterson, NCSA/UIUC; (6,8,9,11) STScI/AURA/NASA; (7) High Z; (10,12) NOVA/NASA.