What happens at the very end of the universe?

Astronomers once thought the universe could collapse in a Big Crunch. Now most agree it will end with a Big Freeze. Trillions of years in the future, long after Earth is destroyed, the universe will drift apart until galaxy and star formation ceases. Slowly, stars will fizzle out, turning night skies black.

What is meant by heat death of Universe?

The heat death of the universe (also known as the Big Chill or Big Freeze) is a hypothesis on the ultimate fate of the universe, which suggests the universe would evolve to a state of no thermodynamic free energy and would therefore be unable to sustain processes that increase entropy.

What is the black hole Era?

The Black Hole Era, which is predicted to last from about 1040 to 10100 (10 duodecillion to 1 googol) years after the Big Bang, spans an unimaginably long stretch of time, even for astronomical timescales. Imagine a universe with no bright stars, no planets, and no life whatsoever — that’s the Black Hole Era.

How will the universe end?

There are a few ways the universe might end, but exactly how depends on how the rate of cosmic expansion changes in the future. If gravity overpowers expansion, the cosmos will collapse in a Big Crunch. If the universe continues to expand indefinitely, as expected, we’ll face a Big Freeze.

What is the heat death of the universe?

This is the true death of the universe, dubbed the “heat death”. The idea comes from the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy – a measure of “disorder” or the number of ways a system can be arranged – always increases.

Will the universe die in a big freeze?

However, the cosmos is ballooning up at an ever-increasing rate, which makes most astronomers think the universe will die in a Big Freeze, where any lingering particles are separated by distances greater than the current observable universe. This story comes from our special January 2021 issue, “The Beginning and the End of the Universe.”

What will happen to the universe after the Big Crunch?

The rate of this expansion may eventually tear the Universe apart, forcing it to end in a Big Rip. Alternatively, the Universe could ‘shrink’, decrease or decay, effectively reversing the Big Bang and destroying the Universe in a Big Crunch.