What is a Black Hole?

What is a blacok hole? This is a commonly asked question, as a black hole is an irregular and complicated object. To put it simply, a black hole is an infinitely dense and powerful object. As it has not only infinite density, but also has an extremely strong gravitational pull to the point where not even light can escape.

Despite how simple the concept of a black hole may seem, the true science behind it is far more complex than anything else in the universe. In order to actually represent how powerful a black hole actually is, we will turn our perspective towards something called the space-time plane. The space-time plane is a flat plane that curves and changes based on the gravitational pull of other celestial bodies on the space-time plane. For a black hole, it would curve the space-time plane so much due to its density, that it would create a parabola-like shape. This parabola shape represents just how powerful a black hole is.

The denser the object, the more violent the change.

The part of the parabola when the plane begins to curve downwards is the physical representation of the event horizon, a place surrounding a black hole  considered to be “the point of no return”. By physical representation, I mean that certain parts of the space-time plane that correlate with certain parts of the actual, physical space. For example, a dense star bending the space-time plane is the physical representation of the dense star’s gravity. Overmore, a black hole has more parts than just the event horizon. By observing telescopes that can capture x-rays and other light that humans can’t see, we can eventually paint the picture of a black hole. The reason why we can’t see black holes directly is because in space, they are practically invisible.

In this example, we can see that the object behind the black hole is being seen by the observer due to the extreme curve caused by the black hole.

Why are black holes invisible to the naked eye? Well this is due to the fact that back holes can bend light. Making it so that any light behind a black hole will end up appearing in front of it and vice versa. The only way to track down a black hole other than using a powerful telescope is to slowly and painfully watch the objects orbit around a black hole (as you can watch over time, if stars that are in a certain fixed position suddenly and rapidly start moving, you can assume it’s due to an outside force other then the object itself ). 

The stars more concentrated towards the center of the GIF seem to be orbiting something not there (the black hole that looks invisible in this video).

Directing back on track, other features of a black hole include one of the most all consuming parts, the relativistic jet. The relativistic jet is a ray of Gamma light formed from the black hole’s consumption of other objects. Gamma rays are the most powerful and destructive form of photons released by the decay of an atom’s nucleus, resulting in the emission of a gamma ray. The next feature is called an accretion disk, the flaming hot, quick rotating disk of light that revolves around most black holes. This disk forms when diffused material (non-concentrated bits and pieces of material) are attracted towards the gravity of a black hole. A large quantity of diffused material results in a larger radius of an accretion disk. 

The first ever image of a real black hole was captured in 2017, showing what is believed to be the accretion disk of the black hole, and artists draw to the side of the accretion disk of what they believed the actual accretion disk looked like.

After reviewing all of ‘nooks and crannies’ of a black hole, I think you get the point, black holes are extremely complex but cool, coming with their own destructive features as well. So what is a black hole really? Well simply, a black hole is an irregular object that occurs in space, that is not only a god of destruction, but a cosmic wonder.

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Original Document: The Astron : What is a Black Hole?