A journey through time

We start at the beginning of the universe. To put it in simple terms, the big bang theory is the most known theory of how our universe was created. It states that “The universe as we know it started with a small singularity, that inflated over the next 13.8 billion years to the cosmos that we know today. (Howell) However, we cannot see into the past, which is why it is only a theory. The majority of the science community accepts this theory, but some other theories have been thought of. But, using models and some pretty specific math, we have been able to sort of “reverse predict” the beginning of the universe.

The beginning

According to NASA, the universe was very, very hot even the 1st second after it was created. And in the beginning, it was full of quarks and stuff. To be more specific, the fundamental particles. Protons, neutrons, and electrons. As the universe got colder and colder overtime (thousands of years) the particles either decayed or they combined with one another. Light didn’t even come into the picture until about 380,000 years after the first bang. After awhile, gravity started to bring some of the cool space gas together. It took millions of years, but once the gases got very close, the created a planet. Well, more like a rock. We now know that rock as earth. When it was 1st created, it was mostly rocks and magma and volcanoes. There was no life.

Earth and the 1st life forms

Earth started out as just a rock. No atmosphere, no water, no life. Eventually, it cooled off and it started raining. Then, everything flooded. Now there were oceans. Then, the leftover space dust at the bottom of the ocean started leaking out. Somehow, this created the first organisms. They had DNA that helped them replicate. They evolved and kept getting bigger. When there was an atmosphere and plants, they evolved even more and came onto land. They turned into dinosaurs. Then, there was a giant meteor that wiped most of them out. The remaining life forms evolved from monkeys into humans. This took millions of years, by the way.

Stars

While earth was evolving and growing, other planets and stars were also being created from crazy space dust. Things like constellations and galaxies are formed. Space does some pretty freaky stuff. It gave us our moon, our sun, and everything else. Now, lets jump into the future a few million or billion years. Eventually, the age of starlight will come to an end. Stars will burn out and die, in big explosions called supernovas. Constellations begin to wander. Stars become white dwarfs, slowly dying. The cosmos as we know it will just become darker and darker. No more new stars will be created. “The universe will end not with a bang, but a whimper. And not in fire, but in ice.”

Degenerate Era

Eventually, the cosmos will just be a “boneyard, strewn with remnants of dead stars and black holes.” This will be trillions of years after humans and life on earth is gone, though. All the stars will become black dwarfs, their final stage of life. This is when the black holes will start to appear. They will kind of activate themselves, after being dormant for many years. During this time, the expansion and acceleration of the universe will continue. Eventually, galaxies will disappear into the distance so fast that they are no longer visible. They will be wandering the cosmos forever. Some scientists predict that in trillions and trillions of years, it is possible that atoms may start to decay. This will destroy all remaining matter in the universe. Nothing will be left behind. Only black holes.

Black holes evaporating

Black holes are not immortal. They evaporate away. They will all eventually explode. When this happens, in trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions of years away from now, they will destroy the last large scale masses in the universe. While this is happening, the universe is still expanding. It is being pushed by a force called dark energy. Now, we don’t know a whole lot about dark energy. We do know that this energy accelerates and pushed the universe, and that is why it is expanding. It makes up nearly 3/4 of the universe. Understanding this energy will give us more knowledge about how the universe will end. We need to study this, if we want to get a more accurate truth about the cosmos. If it keeps going, the universe will keep going forever. It will be cold, dark, and empty, but still a universe.

The possibility of other universes

“We have to ask ourselves, could this end lead to a new beginning?”. If our universe doesn’t exist one day, we need to look at the possibility of other universes. There could be billions, we have no idea. They could be just beginning their lives, or be twice our age. They could have intelligent life forms, or be dark and quiet. They could be more insane than we could ever imagine. Just thinking about this is mind blowing. Space is so fucking big. It’s honestly insane and beautiful. It would be amazing if humans could discover or even escape to other universes, to avoid our inevitable end. We just don’t posses the technology. It’s very sad, to live in a time in which we know so much yet so little. It’s also an opportunity, should we take it.

The end?

If there are no other universes, we don’t know the fate of anything. If there is no way to escape our universe, the end will come when the last black hole evaporates. “As the last one explodes, it will bathe the universe in light one last time.” Time will become meaningless. No light, no matter, no nothing. The cosmos will forever be dark and empty. This will all occur after an unimaginable length of time. The universe will cool any remaining photons to an absolute 0. Everything will decay into nothing. The story of our universe will come to an end. Permanent. Unchanging. “Nothing happens, and it keeps not happening, forever.”

Credits to melodysheep on youtube for some ideas.