In our galaxy, there are black holes that could in an instant swallow the Earth whole and destroy it entirely. Despite this seemingly massive danger, many people don't know how they actually work. J Sheridan explains
A black hole is a region of space where matter has collapsed in on itself. The gravitational pull is so intense that no matter or even radiation can escape its deadly pull. They are incredibly dangerous because the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape; imagine a god-like entity pulling light into itself.
These incredible phenomena are created when the centre of a very massive star collapses in upon itself forming this intense gravitational pull. This collapse also causes a supernova, or an exploding star, that blasts part of the star into space. Scientists think supermassive black holes are formed at the same time as the galaxy they are in.
A black hole has a staggering 1.6 trillion times the gravitational field of earth
The gravity is too great for there to be elements inside or near the surface of a black hole. The extreme gravity also tears everything apart and compresses it. While the average human can survive 4-6 Gs (4-6 times stronger gravity) while a black hole is a staggering 1.6 trillion Gs! That'd would mean a black hole could turn your pet cat into something less than gas, thinner than even air.
But don't fear for your moggy, black holes are far away from earth. GaiaBH1 is the closest black hole to earth? This is 1,560 light-years away or too far to even imagine. In Sriharikota, India, the spaceport launched a rocket to research this black hole. It was launched at 9:10 local time or 3:40 GMT on the 1st of January 2024. This is only the second mission in the world of this nature after NASA launched the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) in 2021. So in the years to come, we'll know much, much more about the black holes.
There is no limit to how much matter a black hole can hold. Found in the core of some galaxies they never exceed about 10 billions solar masses
(the mass of the sun used as a unit of mass, equal to 1.989 × 10^33 kg.)
Recent discoveries and theories
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang that is consuming matter at a phenomenal rate - over 40 times the average amount. New research suggests that tiny primordial black holes could be hollowing out planets and passing through everyday objects, maybe even you and your dog!
Research says that if you went into a black hole your vision would turn into a reverse fish-eye perspective apparently it also ‘spaghettifies’ you, due to stretching you into a thin spaghetti shape because of its massive gravitational force. You'd also be very, very dead.
If you watched a spaceship go into a black hole it will slow down during the contact of the event horizon of the black hole. It would then warp in and out of shape before eventually disappearing to never be seen again. To escape, the spaceship would have to travel at the speed of light about 299,792,458 metres per second or 186,000 miles per second.
So black holes are the most powerful entities in the galaxy.
Photos: Google search
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