If the sun blew up we wouldn’t notice for about eight and a half minutes. The consequences would be substantial, but no one would actually realise – we’d all be dead. Fortunately the sun is a relatively insignificant star; there’s no way it’d become a supernova; it’s far too small to explode. Although, as a Red Giant its expanding radius would probably envelop the earth and kill us all. Considering the other possibilities it’s really the least of our worries. There are hypervelocity stars that travel through the universe at thousands of kilometres per second; their mass is often greater than that of the sun and they destroy everything in their path; one could be headed our way right now. Gamma Ray Blasts are also making their way casually through the space-time continuum; whenever large stars collapse the resulting supernovas release massive amounts of energy randomly into the cosmos. Although all known supernovas are a distance from earth, the rays they omit are strong enough to destroy our atmosphere. And Black Holes! Everyone knows they destroy everything in their direct vicinity; however, few people are aware of their mobility. Some black holes travel through space, feeding on the planets and stars of the universe – the Milky Way is as good a prey as any. The universe is a scary place indeed. The fact that we haven’t yet been destroyed highlights just how lucky we are to be around.