# How old can a black hole be ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-a-black-hole-be/637851>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 16, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-a-black-hole-be/637851 "2012-10-16T05:00:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-a-black-hole-be/637851/1 "2012-10-16T05:00:56Z")

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How long after the big bang would the conditions be just right for the first black hole to form ?

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-can-a-black-hole-be/637851/2 "2012-10-16T05:16:12Z")

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Given the density of energy shortly after the big bang I suspect some black holes would have formed almost immediately. I would think almost certainly some micro-sized ones did, but those would have evaporated by Hawking radiation.

Some cosmologists believe that some black holes may predate the Big Bang

[http://www.technologyreview.com/view/423910/some-black-holes-may-pre-date-the-big-bang-say/](http://www.technologyreview.com/view/423910/some-black-holes-may-pre-date-the-big-bang-say/)

Others say supermassive black holes formed soon after it.

[http://news.discovery.com/space/black-holes-big-bang.html](http://news.discovery.com/space/black-holes-big-bang.html)