Black Holes and the Fate of the Universe

Black holes are ubiquitous, and very important components of our Universe. Stellar mass black holes formed in powerful gamma ray bursts in the early Universe. Supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies formed in lockstep with the stellar structures of the galaxies. Black holes have finite lifetimes, but they will live much longer than other structures in the universe. Indeed, the most massive black holes can live as long as 10^100 years, a truly unimaginable time span. The first compact objects to enter the universe will also be the last ones to leave it. In addition to being a distinguished observational astronomer and the Director of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, Dr. Günther Hasinger is the author of the award-winning book, Fate of the Universe, and is expert in explaining astrophysics and cosmology to the general public.