Have you ever wondered what a black hole is? Saoirse has done some research to give you an introduction to these mysterious structures... Well done Saoirse!
A black hole is formed when the center of a large star collapses in on itself. This event is called a Supernova. Unlike a Supernova, which is very bright, the resulting black hole cannot be seen as not even light can escape it. So how do we know they even exist? We know they exist because of the way dust, stars and other matter* are affected by it.
A black hole is formed when the center of a large star collapses in on itself. This event is called a Supernova. Unlike a Supernova, which is very bright, the resulting black hole cannot be seen as not even light can escape it. So how do we know they even exist? We know they exist because of the way dust, stars and other matter* are affected by it.
When the large stars collapses, their mass is condensed into a very small space. This causes the strength of gravity to increase.
The reason that not even light can escape from a black hole is because anything that enters it is ripped apart by this intense gravitational energy.*
Black holes are generally 10 to 24 times larger than the sun. However there are also ‘supermassive’ black holes which can be up to a million times bigger than the sun! Astronomers believe that ‘supermassive’ black holes can be found at the center of almost all galaxies, including our very own Milky Way.
So where do all the black holes go? In the 1970s, Hawking showed that a black hole will simply evaporate (giving out a final burst of energy) if it is not ‘fed’ more mass*.
*mass=made up of matter, a physical substance.
*gravitational energy=the force/energy caused by gravity.
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