Even though these dead stars have used up their nuclear fuels, the universe continues to produce small amounts of energy
They scoop up and annihilate dark matter particles that manage to stray into their grasp
Now here is where change slows to a crawl
It's expected that protons, the building blocks of all atoms, will slowly degrade
Turning back into sub-atomic particles that then decay into photons, particles of light
All the protons in the universe date back to the earliest moments
Their decay marks the end of the degenerate era
Around a billion years after it all began
They scoop up and annihilate dark matter particles that manage to stray into their grasp
Now here is where change slows to a crawl
It's expected that protons, the building blocks of all atoms, will slowly degrade
Turning back into sub-atomic particles that then decay into photons, particles of light
All the protons in the universe date back to the earliest moments
Their decay marks the end of the degenerate era
Around a billion years after it all began