The Oscillating Universe

“In an open universe, life does not go on forever. As the universe expands, the stars burn out and galaxies grow dimmer. For a while, new stars are created in ever decreasing numbers. But eventually the supply of interstellar gas from which stars are created runs out, and star formation stops. The last stars are able to continue shining for billions of years. But in the end, they too burn out and the universe becomes a cold, dark waste.

A closed universe, on the other hand, could very well go on forever. It will eventually collapse, to be sure. But who is to say that it will not re-explode in a new big bang? If the collapsing universe could somehow “bounce” and enter into a new phase of expansion, life might be created anew after every big bang. If this did happen, it would be reasonable to expect that intelligent beings would exist in every cycle. After all, there is at least one intelligent species inhabiting this cycle, and there is no reason to think that conditions would be very different the next time around.” ((Morris, Richard. The Fate of the Universe. Playboy Press, 1982. 62-63.))