What is a Black Hole?
A black hole
is a 3-dimensional object in space with a gravitational force so much that even
light cannot escape from it. The gravity
is so strong because a huge amount of matter is squeezed into a tiny amount of
space.
This usually
happens after a supernova. A supernova is the violent end of a star much bigger
than our sun.
Since even
light cannot escape the gravity of black holes, they are not visible to the
naked eye. they are invisible. Special telescopes with special types of
equipment can find the black holes. They do so by analyzing the bizarre
movement of stars closed to black holes.
How Big Are Black Holes?
Black holes
can be small or big. According to scientists, the smallest black hole can be a
size of an atom. These black holes have a mass of a large amount despite being
the size of an atom.
Another kind
of black holes is stellar black holes. these black holes have a mass about one
to twenty times of our sun. There are many stellar black holes in the milky way
galaxy alone.
The largest
kind of black holes is known as supermassive black holes. Their mass can be
more than one million times the mass of our sun and their gravitational effect
can be felt over thousands of light-years around them.
It has been
found that almost every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole in its
center. The black hole present in the center of the milky way galaxy is
Sagittarius A and has a mass of about 4 million times the sun.
How Are Black Holes Formed?
According to
scientists the smallest black hole form with the formation of the universe.
A stellar
black hole can be formed in two ways:
- During the supernova, a star can fall upon itself due to the immense gravity of its core and the remain of the dead star can form a black hole. The dead black corpse of a star with immense gravity or due to some conditions, such as a high number not enough mass, a supernova can result in the formation of a neutron star.
- A neutron star is visible to the naked eye but its gravity and mass are also immense. It can happen in the cosmos that two neutron stars collide and may form a black hole of stellar mass. According to scientists, supermassive black holes formed at the same time as their host galaxy.
Written by - Yatin
Edited by - Keerthana Lakshmi
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