Black Hole Facts

A black hole is a region of space from which nothing, including light, can escape. According to the general theory of relativity, it is the result of the curving of spacetime caused by a very dense mass.
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  • A black hole is formed when a star is out of nuclear fuel which it needs to exist. It grows smaller and smaller until it collapses under its own weight.
  • While most stars end up as white dwarfs or neutron stars, black holes are the last evolutionary stage in the lifetimes of enormous stars that had been at least 10 or 15 times as massive as our own sun.
  • Our Sun won’t and cannot become a black hole. Only stars with much more mass than the Sun can become a black hole.
  • If someone fell into a black hole their feet would be pulled in faster than their head. They would be stretched like a piece of spaghetti.
  • According to Einstein’s theories of relativity, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Therefore once something is inside a black hole it can never get out.
  • The black hole emits no light due to its extremely powerful gravitational pull.
  • Planets, light, and other matter must pass close to a black hole in order to be pulled into its grasp.
  • Black holes are small in size, and because they are so small, distant, and dark, black holes cannot be directly observed.
  • Black holes are shaped like a sphere and they can spin.
  • Astronomers believe that one black hole is born every day.