As a child, we all have heard the term ‘Black hole’ a number of times, probably during science classes.
I don’t know about you, but for me, the term had always aroused my curiosity, as a child. It even does now, I must admit.
Let’s try to settle this curiosity today; though, only partly, as black hole is still a mystery that waits to be completely revealed.
Table of Contents
What is a Black Hole?
In the simplest words, a black hole is a place in space that has an extreme gravitational pull.
In fact, the gravitational force in a black hole is so strong that nothing can escape it, not even light.
As no light entering the black hole gets out, it can’t be seen, or in other words, is invisible.
The only possible way to spot a black hole is with a space telescope with special tools.
How Is A Black Hole Formed?
Scientists at NASA believe that a black hole is formed when a star dies. When a big star falls upon itself or collapses, it causes a supernova.
Supernova is a term used for exploding star, sending out parts of the star exploding in the space.
What Is Inside A Black Hole?
A black hole is an incredibly dense space. The matter in a black hole is so crammed that the gravitational pull is extremely high.
So, inside a black hole, its matter in its smallest particle, thanks to the incredible gravitational force.
How Big A Black Hole Is?
Well black holes can be as tiny as an atom and a big as the size of the sun or even larger.
Even the atom-sized black holes have the mass of a mountain. Just imagine a large mountain crammed into a single atom. Incredible, isn’t it? No surprise that they have a much large gravitational force.
Next in line are ‘stellars’. They have mass 20 times more than the sun. There could be several stellar-mass black holes in Milky Way.
‘Supermassive’, are the largest black holes. In fact, they are so huge that their size is equivalent to the size of 1 million suns combined together.
Scientists have concluded that at the center of every galaxy, there is a Supermassive black hole.
Do you know the name of the Supermassive black hole of our own galaxy, Milky Way? It is Sagittarius A.
Can A Black Hole Destroy Earth?
No black hole is close enough to earth, to actually destroy it. Earth can’t fall into a black hole.
Scientists say that even if the sun turns into a black hole, earth and other planets won’t fall into it.
Moreover, sun isn’t big enough a star to turn into a black hole. Big relief!
What Will Happen If You Fell In A Black Hole?
Well, if unfortunately, you ever knowingly or unknowingly jumped into a black hole, your body will turn into spaghetti, due to the extreme gravitational pull.