  Gravity and thermal energy are universal phenomena which compete over the
stabilization of astrophysical systems. The former induces an inward pressure
driving collapse and the latter a stabilizing outward pressure generated by
random motion and energy dispersion. Since a contracting self-gravitating
system is heated up one may wonder why is gravitational collapse not halted in
all cases at a sufficient high temperature establishing either a gravo-thermal
equilibrium or explosion. Here, based on the equivalence between mass and
energy, we show that there always exists a temperature threshold beyond which
the gravitation of thermal energy overcomes its stabilizing pressure and the
system collapses under the weight of its own heat.
