What will happen in quintillion years?
Imagining the future on the scale of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years (1 decillion years) pushes the boundaries of human comprehension in the field of cosmology and the study of the universe. The cosmos will see significant changes over such an inconceivably long period of time, mostly caused by the enigmatic force known as dark energy.
The Function of Dark Energy
About 68% of the universe is made up of dark energy, an enigmatic factor that drives the universe’s rapid expansion. Galaxies are moving away from one another at a growing rate, which is an indirect indicator of its impact. Dark energy will become increasingly prevalent as the universe expands, affecting what will happen to everything in the end.
The Quicker Development
The cosmos will continue to expand more quickly as time goes on. This implies that the distance between galaxies will continue to increase. The distances between galaxies will be so great after a decillion years that the night sky will appear almost barren from the perspective of any surviving planetary systems. Only a few nearby galaxies will remain in the observable cosmos once it eventually recedes beyond the horizon and becomes undetectable.
The Destiny of Planets and Stars
Stars will run out of nuclear fuel and fade away after such a long time. The universe is about to enter a “Degenerate Era,” in which white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes—the remains of stars—will predominate on the cosmic landscape. If planets make it through the end of their parent stars, will drift in the dark, cold void of space.
The Black Hole Era
The universe will eventually be dominated by black holes as long as the Degenerate Era persists. Even black holes will start to fade over unfathomable epochs due to a phenomenon called Hawking radiation. According to physicist Stephen Hawking’s prediction, this radiation causes black holes to lose mass and finally vanish.
The Heat Death: The Ultimate Future
Perhaps in the far future, the cosmos will experience “heat death.” The cosmos would reach maximum entropy in this case, which is the state in which there is no more usable energy to support processes that raise entropy (such life or other ordered complexity). There would be very few particle interactions in the cold, dark, and diffuse expanse that is the cosmos.
In summary
The vastness and complexity of the universe are highlighted by making predictions about the future on the order of a single decillion years. The faster expansion will be driven by dark energy dominance, resulting in a cold and isolated universe. Black holes will evaporate, stars and galaxies will fade away, and the cosmos will gradually approach heat death. Although these predictions are based on what we already know, as our understanding of the cosmos expands, the true nature of dark energy and other cosmic phenomena may reveal even more startling results.
Investigating such far-off scenarios pushes our imagination and emphasizes how complex and dynamic the universe is, encouraging us to never stop looking for new information.