Physicists may be on the verge of observing a rare cosmic event: the evaporation of a primordial black hole, an object that could have formed less than a second after the Big Bang. These ancient black holes could help explain dark matter, generate new particles, and shed light on how supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies first emerged.
New studies by physicists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest there’s up to a 90% chance of observing one within the next decade. Such a discovery would confirm Hawking radiation and provide an unprecedented look at the universe’s fundamental building blocks. If one of these ancient black holes finally appears, it could unlock some of the cosmos’ deepest secrets.
Click through the gallery to see what scientists could uncover next.