Study Predicts Universe’s End Sooner Than Previously Estimated

The Universe’s Accelerated Countdown: New Study Predicts Earlier Cosmic End

Scientists have revised the timeline for the universe’s demise, revealing it could end 1,000 times sooner than previously thought—in just 1 followed by 78 zeros (10^78) years. This stark update comes from Radboud University researchers, who incorporated Hawking radiation—a process once thought to only affect black holes—into their calculations for other celestial objects like neutron stars and white dwarfs.

The New Cosmic Deadline

Earlier estimates suggested the universe would fade into darkness in 10^1,100 years, a near-incomprehensible timespan. However, the new study, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, slashes this timeline by accounting for how all massive objects, not just black holes, lose mass over time.

Neutron stars, remnants of supernova explosions, now have a shorter lifespan due to Hawking-like radiation.

Hawking Radiation’s Expanded Role

In 1974, Stephen Hawking theorized that black holes emit radiation, causing them to slowly evaporate. This process involves particles escaping a black hole’s gravitational pull, contradicting Einstein’s belief that nothing could escape. The Radboud team discovered that neutron stars (ultra-dense stellar remnants) and white dwarfs (cooling cores of dead stars) also emit similar radiation, drastically shortening their lifespans.

Heino Falcke, the study’s lead, explains:

“By including this radiation, we found that even ‘dead’ stars eventually disintegrate. The universe’s end arrives sooner, but still tr