Dark matter could create black holes that devour exoplanets from within

New research suggests that dark matter could gather over vast periods of time at the heart of Jupiter-sized planets, creating black holes that eat these worlds from within. This striking concept may mean extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," could be used to study the mystery of dark matter.

In this new model, superheavy dark matter particles could be trapped by exoplanets, losing energy and drifting toward that world's core. Once there, these superheavy dark matter particles accumulate until they collapse, forming a black hole. This black hole then ravenously eats its way out of its host planet.

This new dark matter/black hole theory doesn't work with all recipes of black holes, however. For instance, if dark matter particles meet and annihilate each other as some models suggest (as happ