The black hole phenomenon is one of the most amazing cosmic phenomena! What distinguishes this hole also makes it difficult to study, as all the mass of the hole is concentrated in a small area, surrounded by boundaries. And nothing that crosses that border can return, not even the light! Black holes are a fascinating phenomenon for both the public and scientists, pushing the limits of our understanding of matter, space and time. Continue reading this article to learn more about this phenomenon.
What is a Black Hole?
A black hole is a region of space that has a gravitational field so strong that no matter or radiation can escape. These holes are made of material packed so tightly that gravity overwhelms all other forces. They arise when massive stars collapse and explode at the end of their lives (and perhaps under other conditions we don’t know about yet). Professor Subramanian Chandrasekhar of the University of Chicago made one of the first steps towards discovering black holes when he realized that massive stars must collapse after running out of fuel for the fusion reactions that keep them hot and bright.
The universe is full of holes. In the past decade, scientists have detected signs of their collisions and taken pictures of the light emanating from the gas swirling around them, and this has helped us learn many things about the universe. For example, these holes helped us test Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which describes how mass, space, and time relate to each other.
Also, the massive hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy may have played a role in how Earth appeared here!
How Big are Black Holes?
Black holes can be large or small. Scientists believe that the smallest holes are only the size of one atom. These holes are very small, but their mass is equivalent to the mass of a large mountain! Mass is the amount of matter present in a body.
There is another type of hole called a “starburst.” Its mass can be up to 20 times greater than the mass of the Sun. There may be many, many stellar-mass holes in the Milky Way Galaxy.
The largest holes are called “supermassive.” These holes contain masses exceeding a million suns together. Scientists have found evidence that every large galaxy contains a massive hole at its center. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way bears the name Sagittarius A. It possesses a mass roughly equivalent to 4 million suns and can fit within an immensely large sphere capable of accommodating several million Earth masses.
How Do Holes Form?
Scientists believe that the smallest holes formed when the universe began. While stellar holes form when a large star collapses or falls toward the center, causing a supernova – a massive explosion in the outer layers of the star. All of the previous star’s matter is then concentrated into one small point (known as a singularity). The hole’s gravity is so strong that nothing – not even light – can escape its gravity.
Black holes can grow larger over time as they swallow gas, stars, planets, and even other holes!
Types of Black Holes
Black holes are classified according to the mass they contain into three main types:
- Stellar holes, are the most common and contain about 10 times the mass of our Sun.
- Medium holes.
- Supermassive black holes, located at the centers of most galaxies, can attain sizes millions or even billions of times larger than the mass of the Sun.
Scientists are still uncertain about the creation of supermassive black holes, although they speculate that these black holes may form through the merger of smaller stellar black holes.
How Did Scientists Infer The Existence of a Black Hole?
The black hole phenomenon remains invisible because the intense gravitational pull draws all light towards the center of the hole. But scientists can see how strong gravity affects the stars and gas surrounding the hole. Scientists can study stars to see if they are flying around or orbiting the hole.
When a black hole and a star draw near to each other, they generate high-energy light. This form of light is invisible to the human eye, so scientists rely on satellites and space telescopes to observe it.
Can a Black Hole Destroy The Earth?
Black holes do not orbit in space swallowing stars, moons and planets. The Earth would not fall into a hole because there is no hole close enough to the solar system for the Earth to be able to. Even if a hole with the same mass as the Sun replaced the Sun, the Earth would not fall into it. Rather, the hole will have the same gravity as the sun, and the Earth and other planets will revolve around the hole as they revolve around the sun now.
The Sun will never turn into a black hole because the Sun is not a large enough star to form a hole.
Finally, What Do Scientists Still Not Know About These Holes?
Even as new detectors and telescopes can tell us more and more about wormholes, scientists still have hundreds of questions about black holes. What do they eat, and how often? What happens when things fall into a black hole?
How do these holes form in the first place?
Other questions also demand answers, beginning with “What lies within a black hole?” and extending to “How do supermassive black holes connect with their host galaxies?”
Scientists find themselves puzzled by whether the information that falls into the black hole phenomenon has truly disappeared forever, even though other laws of physics assert the preservation of all information in the universe.