Black holes have been a prime subject of study among astronomers for years. However, primordial black holes are much more fascinating as they were not born from a dying star. When the universe first burst onto the scene, along with everything else, primordial black holes also came into being. They were formed when extremely dense patches of space collapsed under their own gravity.

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Scientists have been peering into space to learn more about these mysterious objects. However, primordial black holes might have been on Earth all this time. They might lie deep inside the mantle or could have cut through a mere rock.

This has been revealed in a study conducted by researchers from the University at Buffalo, and another from the National Dong Hwa University.

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It theorises that these black holes might still be present in some form in various celestial objects, such as planets, asteroids and deep beneath Earth’s surface. Dejan Stojkovic and  De-Chang Dai state in the study, published in Physics of the Dark Universe, the two ways this is possible.

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Black holes are eating up planets and asteroids from the inside

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There is a likelihood that primordial black holes are still present in the universe, and some of them might have gotten trapped inside a planet or asteroid with a liquid core. If they have reached the interiors of any of these bodies, then they are slowly eating them away on the inside. Over time, such bodies will become hollow and would only be left with an empty shell.

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Their stability would depend on how big they are. The study suggests that only a small world, about a tenth of Earth’s size, could survive such a scenario.

Stojkovic says that studying the orbits of planets can hint at the presence of primordial black holes inside them. “If an object’s density is too low for its size, that’s a strong indication it’s hollow," he said.

Black holes could carve tunnel inside a planet

Another way these enormous entities could have made their way into objects that don't have a molten core is by slicing through them, creating a tunnel. These paths would be minuscule, no wider than a red blood cell, and could stay there for billions of years. Monitoring large slabs of metal or ancient rock can tell if such a tunnel formed there.

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However, the researchers say that the chances of a primordial black hole cutting through a billion-year-old boulder are estimated to be around 0.000001. 

Can Earth have black holes chowing up its interiors?

Scientists say that these black holes likely only interact with planets and asteroids that are much smaller since any hollow object larger than a tenth of Earth’s size would likely collapse. 

However, they might exist here through the second method. But it might not be possible to see them travel through Earth because of their high speed and density, which prevents them from releasing a lot of energy. “If a projectile moves faster than the speed of sound in a medium, the medium’s molecular structure doesn’t have time to respond,” Stojkovic explains.