Black Holes explained: Unraveling the facts of space's cosmic mystery

Time of India

29-05-2025

Black holes are mysterious cosmic objects with gravity which are so strong that even light cannot escape. They form when massive stars collapse under their own gravity creating a dense point called a singularity, surrounded by an event horizon which is the point of no return. The concept of black holes was introduced in 1916 but physicists at the time doubted that such objects could truly exist. Though invisible, black holes can be detected by their effects on nearby matter such as pulling in stars or emitting X-rays. They range in size from stellar to supermassive black holes and are found at galaxy centers. Studying black holes helps in understanding gravity, space and time which offer clues about the fundamental laws that govern the universe. The
black hole
carries various facts and secrets which we are going to discover here.
5 incredible facts about Black Hole
The closest Black Hole- Gaia BH1
Gaia BH1 is currently the nearest confirmed black hole to Earth which is located about 1,500 light-years away in the constellation named Ophiuchus. Unlike many black holes detected by their bright X-ray emissions from consuming nearby matter, Gaia BH1 is part of a binary system with a sun-like star but it doesn't actively pull in material, which makes it quiet and harder to spot. It was discovered using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite which precisely measures star positions and motions. Scientists confirmed Gaia BH1's existence by detecting the shift in its companion star's motion caused by the black hole's gravitational pull. This discovery is important because it suggests many more quiet black holes that might be hiding nearby but are undetectable by traditional X-ray methods and offers new opportunities to study black holes in different environments.
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The biggest known black hole - TON 618
TON 618 is the biggest known black hole which carries about 66 billion times the sun's mass. TON 618 is a supermassive black hole found within a distant quasar which is located billions of light-years from Earth. It's one of the most massive black holes ever discovered with a mass about 66 billion times that of our Sun. TON 618 was detected by observing the intense light emitted from the quasar which is a highly energetic region around the black hole where gas and dust fall in and heat up, producing powerful radiation. The quasar's brightness allowed scientists to estimate the black hole's mass through measurements of the gas motion near its event horizon. Studying TON 618 helps in understanding how such enormous black holes form and grow over cosmic time and sheds light on the early universe's conditions as quasars like TON 618 were more common billions of years ago.
The Milky Way's central black hole - Sagittarius A*
Sagittarius A* is a supermassive black hole situated about 26,000 light-years from Earth which is present right at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It has a mass of approximately 4 million times that of the Sun. Despite its huge mass, Sagittarius A* is relatively quiet compared to the active black holes found in other galaxies which mean it doesn't currently consume large amounts of matter. Scientists have studied Sagittarius A* by tracking the orbits of stars moving around it, which helped confirm its presence and estimate its mass. This black hole plays a crucial role in the dynamics and evolution of our galaxy's core. Sagittarius A* is a key target for future imaging efforts to better understand these mysterious cosmic giants.
Black holes are found in abundance across our galaxy
Scientists believe that the Milky Way galaxy contains millions of black holes. These black holes form from the remains of massive stars that have ended their life cycles in supernova explosions. While only a few dozen black holes have been directly observed, many more are thought to exist but remain hidden because they don't emit light or X-rays. Most of these black holes are stellar black holes which are much smaller than supermassive ones like Sagittarius A* at the galaxy's center. They quietly roam space, sometimes in binary systems with other stars, occasionally pulling in material that can reveal their presence. Ongoing research and new methods like tracking the movements of stars or detecting gravitational waves are helping astronomers to uncover more of these hidden black holes, which play an important role in the galaxy's evolution.
Black holes' cores can be nearly as cold as 'absolute zero'
Black holes are often thought of as incredibly hot because of the energy and radiation around them, but at their very center, the temperature can be extremely low, approaching absolute zero (–273.15°C or –459.67°F). Absolute zero is the coldest possible temperature, where atomic motion nearly stops.This coldness arises because the singularity is a point of infinite density and gravity where the laws of physics as we know them break down. The intense gravitational pull traps everything but no heat or light escapes from within the event horizon. Interestingly, while the core is nearly frozen in temperature, the area just outside the event horizon can emit a faint glow called Hawking radiation which is caused by quantum effects near the black hole's boundary.Understanding the temperature inside black holes helps to explore how gravity and quantum mechanics interact under extreme conditions.
How black holes are formed
Black holes form when massive stars reach the end of their life cycle. During a star's life, it burns fuel through nuclear fusion, creating outward pressure that balances the inward pull of gravity. When the star runs out of fuel, this balance is lost and gravity causes the star to collapse. For very massive stars that are typically more than 20 times the mass of the Sun, this collapse is so intense that the core compresses into a single point called a singularity which is surrounded by an event horizon, forming a black hole. The outer layers of the star may explode in a supernova, scattering elements into space.
In addition to stellar black holes, there are supermassive black holes that form over millions of years, possibly from the merging of smaller black holes or the collapse of massive gas clouds at the centers of galaxies.
What happens inside a black hole
Inside a black hole lies a region called the singularity where gravity is so intense that it crushes matter into an infinitely small and dense point. The laws of physics like general relativity and quantum mechanics, break down at this singularity which makes it one of the biggest mysteries in science. Surrounding the singularity is the event horizon, the boundary beyond which nothing, not even light can escape. Once something crosses this boundary, it is inevitably pulled toward the singularity. Inside the event horizon, space and time behave in strange ways. Time appears to slow down dramatically relative to an outside observer and the usual rules of cause and effect can become distorted. Because no information can escape from inside the event horizon, scientists cannot observe what truly happens inside a black hole directly. Instead, they use theoretical physics and indirect observations to understand these mysterious objects.
Visual nature of black holes
Black holes themselves are invisible because their gravity is so strong that not even light can escape which makes them appear completely black against the backdrop of space. However, we can see their presence indirectly. Around a black hole is often a glowing accretion disk which is a swirling ring of gas, dust and other matter that heats up and emits bright radiation as it spirals in. This disk can be incredibly luminous, outshining entire galaxies. Additionally, black holes can bend and distort light around them due to their intense gravity, creating a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. This warping of light can cause strange visual effects, like rings . In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope captured the first-ever image of a black hole's shadow, showing a dark center surrounded by a bright ring of glowing matter, offering a glimpse into what black holes "look like" from a distance.
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