Can Our Sun Become a Black Hole + Crazy Universe Facts

Well, it turns out black holes might not be as elusive as we once thought. They might be hiding within stars. In this case, the extra mass of some of these space lanterns could explain weird gravitational effects in the Universe. Previously, dark matter was the cause of these phenomena. The black holes I'm talking about might be those itty-bitty ones that appeared at the dawn of time when the Universe was just a baby. And they may still be lurking in the hearts of giant stars. A team of scientists say the idea might be quite plausible. Astronomers could detect such trapped black holes by the vibrations they produce on their star's surfaces. And if there are many of them out there in the cosmos, they might function as the very dark matter that holds the Universe together. Almost any black hole was once a massive star that collapsed in on itself and became incredibly dense. Black holes have immense gravitational pull. Even light can't escape their clutches. People often think that black holes work like vacuums, pulling space inside. But that's not the case. Black holes can only swallow stuff that is extremely close, usually space objects venturing into their event horizon. That's a black hole's point of no return. Once you cross this border, there's no escape. In 1971, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking suggested another origin of black holes. If we took the thick soup of particles that appeared moments after the Big Bang and the birth of the Universe, we'd be bound to find some spots dense enough to collapse and create black holes. Such holes, which got the name of primordial black holes, could range in size from microscopic to gigantic. If they were pervasive and numerous enough, primordial black holes could act as dark matter, knitting the cosmos together with their enormous gravity. And dark matter is believed to make up 85% of all the matter in the Universe. So what's the matter? Astronomers have been searching for primordial holes by looking for flashes that would occur when they pass in front of distant bright objects, magnifying their light like a lens. But they haven't spotted even one yet. On the other hand, if a primordial black hole was tiny enough, with a mass like that of an asteroid, and a diameter as minuscule as a hydrogen atom, the flashes wouldn't be bright enough to be detected by such surveys. Then the team, researching the phenomenon of primordial black holes, decided to consider the consequences of a Universe where dark matter was made entirely out of tiny black holes. They concluded that one of such teensy holes could be dashing through the Solar System at any given time. Some might occasionally get trapped within gas clouds, giving birth to new stars, ending up in their centers. The next step of the researchers was to build a model of a black hole existing in the very core of a star, where hydrogen atoms undergo fusion and produce light and heat. At first, they didn't see anything unusual. Even a super-dense stellar core is mostly empty space, and it wouldn't be easy for a microscopic black hole to find matter to consume there. That's why its growth would be incredibly slow. It could take longer than the lifetime of the Universe for this tiny hole to eat a star. But what if a larger hole, as massive as the dwarf planet Pluto or asteroid Ceres, appeared at the center of a star? Then it would get bigger in a matter of a few hundred million years. The material would keep spiraling into the black hole, creating a disk that would heat up because of friction emitting radiation. Once the black hole grew to the size of Earth, it would start emitting even more radiation, shining extremely brightly. It would also be churning up the star's core, and the star itself would turn into a black hole-powered rather than a fusion-powered object. Such entities were dubbed Hawking stars. To cool off, the exterior of a Hawking star would form a red giant. That's what our Sun is likely to turn into as it gets older. But a red giant star with a primordial black hole at its center would be cooler than the stars that have reached this stage through regular means. Such stars are known as red stragglers. To find out whether they indeed host a black hole, astronomers might need to tune to the frequencies at which stars vibrate. Since a Hawking star would mostly affect the interior of the star rather than its topmost layers, the star would thrum with a certain combination of frequencies. The waves created in the process could be detected in a way the star's light would pulse and thrum. So all scientists need to do now is study the already known red stragglers and figure out whether any of them show the characteristic vibrations of a black hole. Now, should we worry about the Sun? Since our star hasn't reached its red giant stage yet, we can't know whether it'll turn into a cool red straggler. What we know, though, is that our star might contain those tiny black holes that formed in the Big Bang. But now, we have no means to check whether they're indeed there. Currently, our star is around the midpoint of its existence. Middle age. Hmm. It creates energy non-stop by fusing hydrogen atoms within its core. Once it runs out of hydrogen in its core, it will enter its red giant phase and begin to collapse. It'll happen in about 5 billion years, don't hold your breath, and the phase itself will last for a billion years or so before our star depletes its fusible materials and loses its outer layers. It will leave behind a tiny white dwarf star half as massive as the Sun and around the size of our planet. In some cases, when the gravitational collapse of a star's core is complete, the star remnants turn into a black hole. But that's not the fate awaiting our Sun. You see, our star just doesn't have what it takes to become a black hole. It's not heavy enough. There are a few conditions that can affect whether a star can turn into a black hole, including its composition, rotation, and the processes that lead to its evolution. But the main requirement is still the right mass. Stars with 20 to 25 times the mass of the Sun can potentially experience the gravitational collapse needed to form black holes. In other words, the Sun is simply too small to form a black hole. But what would happen to us if it did? You might assume that if the Sun turned into a black hole, our planet would be doomed to be pulled into it. But do you remember the basics? Black holes aren't giant space vacuum cleaners, just sitting there and waiting for a new planet or star to get their hands on. But black holes don't have enough gravitational force beyond that created by their incredible mass. And if the Sun were to turn into a black hole, which will not happen, this hole would still have the same mass as our former star. And Earth's orbit around this newly formed black hole wouldn't change. But all other things would change dramatically. The Sun, which is currently around 432,000 miles in radius, would shrink to a mere 1.9 miles in radius. But you wouldn't be concerned with the absence of the bright yellow sphere in the sky since you have many more pressing issues on your hands. Our planet's main heat source would be gone, leaving us frozen in the dark. Without this source of energy, photosynthesis would immediately stop, disrupting entire food chains. Eventually, all life on Earth would be extinguished. But rest assured, our hard, barren rock of a planet would continue in its orbit. Oh well. That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends. Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side of life!