Hawking: Earth Doomed, Humans Must Explore Space. Stephen Hawking's Southern California lecture series continues Tuesday night at Caltech's Beckman Auditorium, where the renowned theoretical physicist will discuss the big bang, black holes and more in a lecture titled "The Origin of the Universe."
The event is free and open to the public, with 500 seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets will be handed out as early as 6:45 p.m. An overflow audience can watch the talk on a live video feed elsewhere on campus.
Noted scientists have taken the same stance, though not as extreme, over the years arguing that humanity as a species should explore the cosmos not only to preserve the species, but for economic purposes as well.
