Take a back seat all you would be world dominators and human race wiper outers, the real challenge is the actual total destruction of the entire planet... and it's not as easy as you might think. Go here for more information.

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In addition to the equipment listed above, and regardless of choice of method, you will of course need several more things: support, money, brains, and planning.

Assuming, of course, that you and whatever trusted advisors you have allowed to side with you do not intend to "go down with the ship", it is advisable to make plans for alternate living arrangements before you embark on a course of action which may result in the destruction of the Earth. Since in most cases the hypertechnology required to actually destroy the Earth is ridiculously advanced, access to an interstellar spacecraft, a space station or another habitable planet is likely to be well within your grasp, but please, plan ahead.

Stand at a safe distance. Lurking at least one AU out of range of whatever terrible destructive force you are about to unleash is strongly recommended in most cases, but for the supernova particularly you'll want to put as much as a thousand light years between yourself and the Earth when it happens.

If you have to be physically on Earth to begin the destruction process (e.g. von Neumann machines, antimatter blast), then set a countdown of at least a week. Make sure the countdown timer is a) thoroughly tested and b) tamper-proof. The same goes for your escape route.

If the method you choose can be tried more than once (e.g. hurled into Sun, vacuum energy detonation), and your budget will stretch, you could consider practicing on smaller astronomical bodies and working your way up. For example, consider destroying Mercury, or Ceres. Don't forget to take notes on what went particularly well, what didn't work, what was unnecessary, etc., just so everything goes as smoothly as possible on the big day.

Take a camera. Most of the methods listed above are incredibly spectacular and witnessing them will probably be once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you, so remember to capture the moment.

If you do fail, don't give up! Remember, nobody has ever successfully destroyed the Earth.

via Backwards City via linkfilter