Day: September 27, 2022

Professional Poster Model Albert Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes in 1916 with his general theory of relativity. However, due to their appetite for light, black holes were a struggle for astronomers to find in the midst of all the shining and glittery objects that make up the night sky. This changed and Einstein’s prediction became fact when the first black hole was discovered in 1964 when astronomers used X-rays to spot a bright blue star in the Milky Way orbiting a strange dark object, with materials being stripped away and gobbled up by said mysterious object. Since then, NASA has estimated that there are 100 million black holes in the Milky Way with 40 quintillions around the corner, populating the observable universe. The closest black hole to Earth, dubbed The Unicorn, is approximately 1,500 light years away. So if you’re ever out taking a stroll 1,500 light-years away, remember to stay sharp and bring a strainer, because you could be stuck there for a while.

So we know Black Holes are there and what they do, but what exactly are they? Did they start as little black hole babies, sucking on stars like a pacifier? Of course not! That would be silly and the actual answer is far less adorable to imagine. Black Holes are born from the death of stars more massive than the sun. “When a star runs out of the nuclear fuel that makes them shine, their core collapses into black holes under their own gravity.” Black holes can also come to
be from the collision of neutron stars and grow from stripping away the material of these stars. We could use the baby imagery for this process, but thinking about it gets morbid rather quickly.

Not all Black Holes are the same. The family tree consists of four types. Stellar Mass Black Holes are the most common in the universe. Miniature black holes are similar to Stellar Masses but have room to grow and Intermediate Holes are bigger than Stellar masses but still mostly a mystery to scientists as we’ve seen very few. Then there are the behemoths of the Universe, the Super Massive Black Holes. In Einstein’s general theory of relativity, it’s predicted that Super Massive Black Holes can have masses equal to billions of suns, and likely lurk in the center of most galaxies. It is still unknown how exactly Super Massive Black Holes are formed as they are far too massive to be formed to be born from a single, however, scientists can study one in our own backyard after the discovery of Sagittarius A* in the center of our galaxy in the early 2000s. Now that we have a firm understanding of black holes and how they’re the best slurpers in the Universe, it’s time to ask ourselves….