What is a black HoleBlack Holes are great amounts of matter packed into a very small area. Since it is packed into a small space, it creates a gravitational field so strong nothing can escape from it. Not even light, with its speed of 299,792 kilometers per second in a vacuum can escape a black hole. Black Holes can vary in size to age. The link below shows the mass range of of Stars and what they will most likely become depending on the individual star's mass. A Black Hole doea not emit its own light.
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Why Do Black Holes Occur
There are 2 main types of Black Hole in the Universe. Stellar Black Holes which forms after a large star explodes into a Supernova. If the deceased Stars core has 4 or more times the mass of our sun, the core collapses into a Black Hole, which has a densely packed mass equivalent of 20 Suns. The second type of Black Hole are Supermassive Black Holes which have a mass equivalent of around 1 Billion Suns. These types likely exist in the centre of most Galaxies including our own. We don't know exactly how they formed but it is likely a bi-product of Galaxy formation. Because these Black Holes are mostly found in the centre of the Universe they would have steady diet of matter to feed on from the many surrounding stars and Nebulae.
What Happens If You Get To Close
The exact effects of going too close to the Black Hole depends on the size and mass of the Black Hole itself. Stellar Black Holes exert a strong pull on any objects that come close to its event horizon. An event horizon is a boundary around a Black Hole. If anything goes past this boundary nothing can escape from it. The side that is facing the black hole, for example the front of the human body is closets to the Black Hole than the backside of the human body so gravity stretches the object and pulls it apart. Time appears to pass slower for an object that goes near the event horizon.
How We Study Them
Astronomers cant directly see a Black Hole. Instead they can detect the presence of Black Hole by checking the matter nearby. If a black hole passes through a Nebula, it will draw the matter inward in a process called accretion. A similar process occurs if a star gets to close to a Black Hole. If it does get to close the Black Hole can tear the star apart as it pulls it towards itself. As the matter heats it emits x-rays that radiate into space.