Scientists are predicting a ‘big crunch’ apocalypse could be on its way as shifting dark energy forces the universe to collapse into massive black holes
The apocalypse is coming for the cosmos significantly sooner than experts previously predicted, according to a terrifying new study. Forget the trillions of years we thought we had left as boffins now claim the universe is on a collision course with destiny in a fraction of that time.
While the scientific community has long theorised a slow “heat death” over eons, researchers at the Donostia International Physics Centre suggest a much more violent finale is brewing.
New simulations indicate the universe has a strict expiration date of 33.3 billion years after the Big Bang. With the cosmos already 13.8 billion years old, that leaves us with a “mere” 19.5 billion years before the lights go out for good.
Instead of fading away, the universe is expected to undergo a big crunch in a chaotic reversal of its current expansion that sees galaxies, stars and planets crushed back into a single point.
According to the team’s pre-print paper: “Eventually, it is plausible that the universe ends in giant black holes.”
The fate of everything depends on dark energy, the invisible force currently pushing the universe apart. Astronomers previously believed the force was a constant that would keep us expanding forever.
However, data from the Dark Energy Survey Instrument (DESI), which mapped a staggering 47 million galaxies, suggests dark energy isn’t stable. If dark energy weakens, gravity takes the lead, pulling the universe back like a film being played in reverse.
The researchers used a model involving axions (a hypothetical light form of dark matter) to show how the shift leads inevitably to a collapse. As the cosmos shrinks, matter will be squeezed together, according to the experts.
Lead author Dr. Hoang Nhan Luu and his team said: “As the universe is collapsing, one can imagine that matters are push together to form a giant black hole, which in turn shields/hides the crunch singularity.”
While 20 billion years sounds like a long time, the Earth has its own problems to deal with first. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is already on a crash course with the Andromeda galaxy.
Dr. Luu said:”On the local level, the possible collision of our Milky Way with its largest neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy, is predicted to occur in about four to 10 billion years. It is interesting to re–estimate the time of their collision (or no collision) before the big crunch.”
The theory isn’t set in stone just yet. More data from the DESI survey is expected next year, which will determine if the “axion dark energy” model holds up under scrutiny.
Dr. Luu added: “More and better data are expected in the near future and the aDE model will be rigorously tested. If confirmed, the aDE model parameters – and the universe’s lifespan – will be more precisely determined.”
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