What is a Black Hole and Can a Black Hole “Eat” the Earth? page all

KOMPAS.com – Even though it looks empty, the sky holds many objects that are still a mystery.

One of them is a black hole. It is so dense that the gravitational attraction is so strong that not even light can escape the black hole’s grasp if it is close enough.

Previously, many films have discussed this, ranging from Interstellar to Black Hole.

Also read: Get to know Sirius, the Brightest Star in the Night Sky

What is a black hole or black hole?

Launch NASA, August 21 2018, black hole or black hole is a place in space where gravity attracts so much that even light cannot escape.

Gravity is very strong because matter has been squeezed into a small space. This can happen when a star is dying.

Since no light can escape, one cannot see black holes. Black holes are invisible.

Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes.

quote Space, December 4, 2021, astronomers have so far identified three types of black holes, namely stellar black holes, supermassive black holes, and intermediate black holes.

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How big is a black hole?

Still from the page NASA, Black holes can be big or small. According to scientists the smallest black hole is only as big as an atom.

The black hole is very small but has a mass the size of a giant mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff”, in an object.

Another type of black hole is called a “star”. Its mass can be up to 20 times greater than the mass of the sun.

It is thought that there are many stellar-mass black holes in Earth’s galaxy, the Milky Way.

The largest black holes are called “supermassive.” The black hole has a mass that is more than 1 million suns.

Scientists have found evidence that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center.

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equivalent to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large sphere that could hold several million planet Earths.

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Scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe began.

A stellar black hole is created when the center of a very large star falls on itself, or collapses.

When that happens, it will cause a supernova. A supernova is a stellar explosion that blows part of a star into space.

Scientists think supermassive black holes were created at the same time as the galaxy they are in.

If black holes are black, how do scientists know they exist?

A black hole cannot be seen because strong gravity pulls all light toward the center of the black hole.

But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas around the black hole.

Scientists can study stars to see if they are flying around a black hole or orbiting a black hole.

When a black hole and a star are close together, high-energy light is created. This kind of light cannot be seen with the human eye.

Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see high-energy light.

Also read: 6 galaxies trapped in black holes, these are the findings of astronomers

Can black holes “eat” the Earth?

Black holes do not circulate in space to eat stars, moons, and planets.

Earth will not fall into a black hole because no black hole is close enough to Earth’s solar system.

Even if a black hole with the same mass as the sun replaced the sun, the Earth would still not fall.

The black hole will have the same gravity as the sun. Earth and the other planets will orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun.

Besides, the Sun will never turn into a black hole. The sun is not a star large enough to create a black hole.

Also read: 300 Million Potentially Habitable Planets, 1 Planet Found Similar to Earth

Launch Space, December 4, 2021, Albert Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes in 1916 with his general theory of relativity.

The term black hole or black hole was coined many years later in 1967 by the American astronomer John Wheeler.

After decades black holes were known only as theoretical objects, because the first physical black holes were discovered in 1971.

Then, in 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration released the first ever recorded image of a black hole.

The EHT spotted the black hole at the center of galaxy M87 while the telescope was examining the event horizon, or areas in the past that the black hole couldn’t escape.

The image maps the sudden disappearance of photons (particles of light). It also opens up new research areas in black holes, now that astronomers know what black holes look like.

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