Doomsday calculations: the end of the Universe could come sooner than previously thought

A new study by researchers at Radboud University in the Netherlands, published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, suggests that the end of the Universe will occur much sooner than previous estimates indicated.

If until now the final scenario was placed in an almost unimaginable future - around 10 to the power of 1100 years, that is, a 1 followed by 1,100 zeros - Dutch researchers now propose a significant revision: the Universe could "die" in just 10 to the power of 78 years, informs AFP. That means a 1 followed by 78 zeros - also a distant future, but considerably closer in cosmic terms. "The end of the universe will happen much sooner than previously thought, but fortunately it is still far away," said Heino Falcke, the lead author of the study.

• Where does this estimate come from?

The starting point of the study is a phenomenon known as Hawking radiation - theorized by the famous physicist Stephen Hawking in the 1970s. It claims that black holes lose energy and mass over time by emitting radiation, which means that they will eventually evaporate completely. The Dutch researchers extrapolated this theoretical mechanism to other types of celestial bodies - in particular to white dwarfs, the dense remnants of low- and medium-mass stars, considered the longest-lived objects in the Universe. Their calculations showed that these objects can also "evaporate", albeit on an extremely long time scale. "By asking these questions and examining extreme cases, we hope to better understand the theory and perhaps one day be able to solve the mystery of Hawking radiation," explained Walter van Suijlekom, co-author of the study.

• What does this mean for humanity?

While this is exciting scientific news, it is not one that should worry humanity. The fate of planet Earth is much closer and already well-defined: in about 1 billion years, the Sun will become so hot that the planet's oceans will begin to boil, ending life as we know it. In about 8 billion years, the Sun will swallow the already barren and uninhabitable Earth. This research offers fascinating insights into the nature of the cosmos and the limits of our understanding of time, matter and entropy.