One of the most hotly debated topics among scientists and normal folks alike, that I think we have all thought about at least once in our lifetimes is how the universe will finally end.

We already have a good idea of how it began. It all started with a big bang roughly 13.77 billion years ago. The whole universe seemingly came out of nowhere and expanded into the unimaginable vastness we observe today.

As for how it will end, we have no clue. Even though it will not happen for a very long time (scientists estimate anywhere from 2 billion years from now to 22 billion years) it is a good idea to try to figure out how it will happen, for the sake of science.

There have been many suggestions made by some really smart people. Some say that it will end with a big rip, meaning that it will keep expanding to unimaginable levels until everything is literally torn apart. Some suggest that it will contract back to the tiny point it started from. But what if everything ends with black holes?

Black Holes - Universe Killer?

The short answer to that question is - No. Black holes are hugely misunderstood by the general populous. They think that black holes are these universal vacuum cleaners that go about devouring everything in their way.

While that is true to an extent, a black hole doesn't eat something up until there is a direct collision. Just because a black hole is present doesn't mean that all the matter surrounding it will start falling inside of it.

For example, if we replace our Sun with a black hole of equal mass, everything will keep orbiting around it like nothing ever happened. Similarly, the supermassive black holes at the centre of most galaxies simply act as a gravity anchor for the hundreds of billions of stars in them to orbit around.

Yes, supermassive black holes do gobble up stars as some are actively feeding but even then it would probably take them quadrillions of years to finish eating up their galaxies. The stars would perish long before that as they run out of fuel.

So, I think it is safe to say that black holes are not one of the ways that the universe will end.