The black hole remains poorly understood even in our time. Much is based on pure theory, assumptions and probabilities from the best scientists on the planet. But in recent years, more and more information has appeared, which is supported by more specific studies. The Scientific Valley has collected some interesting facts about black holes.
The death of a star does not always result in the formation of a black hole.
Indeed, a black hole can appear after the exhaustion and explosion of a particularly large star - it must be at least ten times larger than our Sun. By the way, that's why we have nothing to worry about. The sun is too small to become a black hole.
When a star dies, it contracts due to the enormous inward force of gravity, and in some cases this leads to the formation of a black hole. The gravity is so strong that even photons of light cannot escape from it. (Light travels at a speed of 300,000 kilometers per second).
Also read:
How do Stars Collapse under their own Gravity?
What happens after when a star collapses under its own gravity?
The black hole was "photographed" only five years ago
Black
holes have many illustrative interpretations, but until recently all this was
just artistic fantasies. And only on April 10, 2019, scientists presented a
photograph of a black hole located in the galaxy Messier 87. It is located 55
million light years from us. The black hole looks like this:
The yellow-orange ring is called an accretion disk – it is frictionally heated matter that falls onto the black hole.
NOTE: The image was obtained as a result of data compilation from eight radio telescopes located at different points on the planet earth. In reality, it is hardly possible to call it an ordinary photograph.
There are many black holes, but it is very difficult to find them
In the Milky Way alone, the galaxy that contains our solar system, there could hypothetically be millions of black holes. But it seems we will never know about most of them. Detecting such phenomena is incredibly difficult due to a number of factors. First, black holes are very small. Second, they are essentially invisible - they do not emit light, but rather absorb it.
Therefore, indirect signs help scientists search for black holes: for example, abnormally high gravitational radiation.
Black holes do not “pull” objects in – they fall in themselves
A black hole does not work like a vacuum cleaner. The attraction of objects occurs through the action of gravity. That is, a hypothetical planet "falls" into a black hole under the action of its own mass - like a tennis ball into a manhole.
Black hole is not a very accurate name; but they haven't come up with a better one yet
In some science fiction films, a black hole is presented as some kind of a portal. The word "hole" in the name of the phenomenon also hints at this. However, such ideas are incorrect. Scientists introduced the term "black hole" into circulation, mainly relying on associations. They say that this phenomenon is not visible, and if something gets there, it can't return because of gravity - that's why it's a black hole.
