Project Universe 26 - Black Holes

A black hole is formed when a star implodes with enough force to overcome the nuclear strong force. If the neutron core of a supernova is greater than about 2 solar masses, the core will collapse into a black hole.

Structure of a black hole:

-The photon sphere traps light particles in orbit around the black hole

-Inside the event horizon light particles cannot escape

-The event horizon's diameter is 6 km for every 1 solar mass the black hole contains

- Gravitational lensing of background stars occurs out to a distance twice the radius of the event horizon

X-ray binaries may be black holes pulling material from their companion stars. Cygnus X-1 may be a binary star pair containing a black hole.

Gravitation waves from black holes may be detectable and may tell us about the processes occurring during the birth of a black hole.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Project
• Universe
• astronomy