Hey there, space explorers! 🌌 Did you know that the universe might end way sooner than scientists used to think? Don’t worry, it’s still a really long time away, but here’s what’s happening!
Three scientists from Radboud University studied something called Hawking radiation, named after the famous physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking radiation is like tiny bits of energy that escape from black holes, causing them to slowly disappear over time.
But guess what? These scientists found out that not just black holes, but also stars like white dwarfs (the leftover pieces of old stars) can slowly vanish through a similar process! 😲
Before, scientists thought it would take a mind-boggling 101,100 years (that’s a 1 with 1,100 zeros!) for these stars to disappear. But the new study shows it might actually take about 1078 years (a 1 with 78 zeros). That’s still super duper long, but much shorter than we thought before!
One of the researchers, Professor Heino Falcke, said, “So the ultimate end of the universe comes much sooner than expected, but fortunately, it still takes a very long time.”
They even calculated how long it would take for things like the Moon or even a human to disappear through this process. For us, it would take about 1090 years! That’s a number so big, it’s hard to imagine! 🤯
But don’t worry! Other things would happen long before that could ever affect us. So, we can keep on exploring and enjoying our amazing universe! 🌟
Reference(s):
Study shows universe's decay may be faster than previously estimated
cgtn.com
