Scientist's discovery of a "ghost black hole" hints at a universe that came before the one we live in

It’s common knowledge that, because of the speed at which light travels, we can see things in space that aren’t even there anymore. If we peer at a distant galaxy we’re really only seeing what the objects within it looked like when the light itself was beaming in our direction. If the galaxy is a thousand light-years away, we’re seeing what the galaxy looked like a thousand years ago.

Now, researchers believe that they may be able to use a similar technique to search for black holes that don’t exist anymore. The only difference is that the black holes aren’t just from long ago, they’re from an entirely different version of the universe. Woah.

As Live Science reports, a research team comprised of scientists from Oxford University, the University of Warsaw, and the New York Maritime College, believe they have evidence that points to the leftovers of a black hole that existed in a universe that preceded the one we’re currently living in. However, rather than visible light, the black holes leave behind what is known as cosmic microwave background radiation, or (CMB).

The idea here is that even when a universe ends and a new one begins, the background radiation from decaying black holes of the previous universe remains. A theory such as this isn’t much good without some kind of concrete foundation of data to back it up, so the researchers began hunting for what they call “Hawking points.” Named for Stephen Hawking, Hawking points are areas where the researchers believe the leftover radiation from now-extinct black holes still exists.

eddie wrote:Space and the universe....messes with my head

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:Space and the universe....messes with my head

Me too....I used to tell my grandson there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on earth (which is apparently true)....that used to give me brain ache trying to imagine it.
Even worse....concentrate on eternity, something going on for ever and ever...and ever, thats really brain numbing.

Ben Cottonpickin' Reilly wrote:

Syl wrote:

Me too....I used to tell my grandson there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on earth (which is apparently true)....that used to give me brain ache trying to imagine it.
Even worse....concentrate on eternity, something going on for ever and ever...and ever, thats really brain numbing.

I have a thought exercise that helps me cope with eternity. So say you were in a spaceship, and you could travel as far as you wanted for as long as you wanted.

If you were to somehow find a wall reading "Universe Ends Here," you'd scoff, because you'd know there was something on the other side of that wall. Even if it was empty space.

When I think of it that way, it makes far less sense that there would be an end to space, and far more sense that it just keeps going.

Ben Cottonpickin' Reilly wrote:

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:Space and the universe....messes with my head

Me too....I used to tell my grandson there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on earth (which is apparently true)....that used to give me brain ache trying to imagine it.
Even worse....concentrate on eternity, something going on for ever and ever...and ever, thats really brain numbing.

I have a thought exercise that helps me cope with eternity. So say you were in a spaceship, and you could travel as far as you wanted for as long as you wanted.

If you were to somehow find a wall reading "Universe Ends Here," you'd scoff, because you'd know there was something on the other side of that wall. Even if it was empty space.

When I think of it that way, it makes far less sense that there would be an end to space, and far more sense that it just keeps going.

eddie wrote:Oh, how spiritual, Veya. I like it.

veya_victaous wrote:

eddie wrote:Oh, how spiritual, Veya. I like it.

the sort of stuff in the OP (Quantum Physics) is the Basis of my Religion