A physicist claimed that Earth and the entire universe could already be inside a black hole. According to the physicist, this theory is related to the idea that the Big Bang was actually a black hole.

As indicated in various scientific reports, black holes can form through a number of ways such as when a massive star bigger than the Sun collapses on itself and dies. This occurrence causes a supernova and a formation of a black hole. Scientists also believe that a collision between two neutron stars can create a black hole.

In theory, these scenarios indicate that black holes are formed when a massive volume of mass exists at a certain spot in space. This causes a rift in the space-time fabric, which then leads to a black hole, according to Express.

Due to this theory, many scientists believe that the Big Bang, which is credited as the creator of the entire universe, was actually a black hole. According to supporters of this theory, the Big Bang was a black hole that opened in a different universe. The cosmic material absorbed by the black hole became the building blocks of the universe.

For theoretical physicist Nikodem Poplawski of Poland, this concept points to the possibility that the universe where Earth is in was formed inside the Big Bang black hole.

“Our universe may exist inside a black hole,” he stated in an article he wrote for Inside Science. “This may sound strange, but it could actually be the best explanation of how the universe began, and what we observe today.”

“It’s a theory that has been explored over the past few decades by a small group of physicists including myself,” he added.

If this theory is true, then it would explain why the universe is still growing and expanding. Since the Big Bang black hole is still active, the cosmic material that it is continuously absorbing becomes part of the growing universe.

Poplawski noted that this could also explain why space agencies cannot observe what is happening inside other black holes.

“Every black hole would produce a new, baby universe inside,” he stated. “If that is true, then the first matter in our universe came from somewhere else. So our own universe could be the interior of a black hole existing in another universe.”

“Just as we cannot see what is going on inside black holes in the cosmos, any observers in the parent universe could not see what is going on in ours,” he added.