Q: Define the term Black Hole. What’s expected inside it?
(CSS Paper 2007, 2018)
Black Hole:
A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars.
This soon may change. An audacious global project called the Event Horizon Telescope is currently working to piece together an image of a black hole for the first time. And if it does, it will be a remarkable accomplishment. Because as massive black holes are, they’re actually incredibly hard to see up close.
How Big Are Black Holes?
Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff,” in an object.
Another kind of blackhole is called “stellar.” Its mass can be up to 20 times more than the mass of the sun. There may be many, many stellar mass black holes in Earth’s galaxy. Earth’s galaxy is called the Milky Way.
The largest blackholes are called “supermassive.” These blackholes have masses that are more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive blackhole at its center. The supermassive blackhole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths.
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How Do Black Holes Form?
Scientists think the smallest blackholes formed when the universe began.
Stellar blackholes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it causes a supernova. A supernova is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space.
Scientists think supermassive blackholes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in.
If Black Holes Are “Black,” How Do Scientists Know They Are There?
A blackhole can not be seen because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the blackhole. But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas around the blackhole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they are flying around, or orbiting, a blackhole.
When a blackhole and a star are close together, high-energy light is made. This kind of light can not be seen with human eyes. Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see the high-energy light.
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What could be inside a black hole?
A blackhole has a boundary, called the event horizon. It is where gravity is just strong enough to drag light back, and prevent it escaping. Because nothing can travel faster than light, everything else will get dragged back also. Falling through the event horizon, is a bit like going over Niagra Falls in a canoe.
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