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Q&A: Black Holes
Q:
Does Chandra indicate more Quasar/Super Massive Black Holes like
PKS 0637-72 than previously were thought to exist in the early
years of the universe? Studies I have read theorize the universe
will fizzle out after a "Black Black Hole" era.
A:
The Chandra data indicates that the number of active black holes
is about two or more times greater than previously thought.
Among the most interesting long term results from Chandra will
be greatly improved estimates of the number of stellar sized and
supermassive black holes in the universe. The "Black Hole" era
you mention may refer to the era in the far distant future after
all the stars have burned out, elementary particles have decayed
into neutrinos and gamma rays, and eventually, black holes
evaporate by the Hawking process. The latter time is huge, being
about a 100 trillion octillion yotta-years, or 1 followed by 65
zeroes, for a 10 solar mass black hole, and a quintillion times
longer than that for a 10 million solar mass black hole! (1
yotta-year = a trillion trillion years).
For more information see our Field Guide section on Black
Holes.