• Question: what is a black hole?

    Asked by scazza226 to Adam, Geoff, Rob, Sheila, Suzie on 14 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sheila Kanani

      Sheila Kanani answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      A black hole is what happens when a really huge star dies.
      The star explodes as a “supernova” but then is so large it collapses in on itself.
      This creates a black hole, a region in space that has such strong gravity that even light can not escape.
      If you would like more information, let me know! There is so much to cover with black holes that I don’t really know where to start, or end!

    • Photo: Geoff McBride

      Geoff McBride answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      When a large stars energy runs out it starts to collapse. If it is large enough a black hole forms where the gravity is so strong even light cannot escape.
      Patrick Moore was a great inspiration his site gives a good explanation

      http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/dictionary/black-hole-stars

    • Photo: Adam Tuff

      Adam Tuff answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      A black hole is a point in space where nothing, not even light, can escape. They usually happen when a massive star reaches the end of it’s life and dies – the heat that keeps the star as it is can’t fight gravity, and in the end it collapses on itself. What is inside a black hole, nobody knows, as in every day science we use light to observe objects – if even light cannot escape, it’s impossible to tell what is inside.

    • Photo: Suzie Sheehy

      Suzie Sheehy answered on 14 Mar 2011:

      It’s an object in space which is so dense (has so much weight in such a small area) that the gravitational attraction of anything that goes near it is so strong, that nothing can ever escape it!

Comments