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Of all the many facets of astronomy, few are simultaneously as well-known and poorly-understood as black holes. Even scientists struggle to decipher their mysteries, so how could the layman be expected to comprehend them? While there are certainly complexities to black holes that make it difficult anyone to grasp the full picture, the basic nature of black holes is something everyone can learn. With such knowledge in hand, the complexities of the matter become more accessible, and any new research that surfaces regarding these galactic mysteries can be more easily understood.
Let’s begin by answering a simple question: what are black holes? In the simplest of terms, black holes are concentrations of massive amounts of matter in comparatively tiny spaces. They form wherever those massive amounts of matter collapse in on themselves; often, this effect is produced by the death of very large stars. Because so much matter is concentrated in such a small space, the rules of space and time are disrupted in and around black holes. The gravity they exert within themselves and on their surroundings is immense, resulting in a pull so strong that anything sucked into one would need to move faster than the speed of light to escape. This is why black holes are called black holes; if light exists inside them, it moves too slowly to escape, causing the black hole to become an imperceivable void. The lack of light exiting from black holes makes it impossible for us to detect them—the only reason we can be certain they exist is because they interact with visible objects in unique ways.
Black holes are made up of a few distinct parts. The most notable part of a black hole is its event horizon—the “boundary” beyond which nothing can escape the black hole’s pull. The particles and gasses that find themselves caught in the black hole’s intense gravity often form a vibrantly bright glow around the black hole’s event horizon; this glow is known as the accretion disk. The few images we currently have of black holes are characterized by the glow of the accretion disk, which makes black holes look like fiery eyes peering out of the darkness of space. The matter consumed by black holes also send out bright lances of particles and radiation when they meet their “demise”; these lances are called relativistic jets. The most important part of a black hole is the hyper-concentrated, infinitely dense pinpoint of mass in its center. This point is known as the singularity, and it is thought to be the place where all known laws of space and time break down. Everything that enters a black hole becomes a part of the singularity, and the individual properties of every consumed object and particle cease to exist when they enter the singularity.
Though the extreme nature of black holes make them somewhat terrifying, black holes really aren’t something the average person needs to be concerned about. They aren’t vacuums of matter that suck up distant objects; rather, they are more like planets that have a (very strong) gravitational field. Once an object enters that gravitational field, it will begin to orbit the black hole until it ultimately finds itself drawn past the event horizon and into the singularity. Because everything we know and love exists far, far away from the gravitational fields of any black holes, we are safe from being consumed by these lightless behemoths.
Research is ever ongoing into better understanding black holes. Because they fundamentally deviate from all known laws of space and time, it is difficult to understand the way they work using mathematic and theoretical systems designed around those laws. Quantum science may bring us closer, but it is ultimately unsure as to whether or not we will ever be able to crack the black hole code. As-is, black holes are a fascinating anomaly that has intrigued scientists, writers, and everyday citizens for as long as we have known about them. Even if we can never fully understand them, we can still marvel at their mystique and probe deeper in the hopes of discovering the ultimate answer.
Resources & Further Reading
This article is designed to serve as an incredibly basic primer; covering all current research on black holes would be an immense task—and one likely to be invalidated with future research, at that! If your interest has been piqued by this basic overview, I would encourage you to continue investigating the most recent research on the topic; from here-on out, we will also endeavor to bring that recent research to you as it surfaces.
These sources, used as the foundation for this article, make a great place to begin your journey:
Black Holes || NASA
This article from NASA offers a slightly more in-depth introduction to black holes and provides links to further educational videos and articles for you to peruse!
Black Holes - Everything you need to know || Space.com
This article offers a wide array of information regarding our current understanding of black holes, alongside useful diagrams and pictures.
Black Holes Explained - From Birth to Death || Kurzgesagt on Youtube
This video from Kurzgesagt offers a great and visually-engaging explanation of the origin and "life cycle" of black holes.
What If You Fall Into a Black Hole? || Kurzgesagt on Youtube
Though this video has a quippy title, it is full of interesting science, expanded explanations of the nature of black holes, and updated information. It also exemplifies Kurzgesagt's modern visual style--you'll have a blast watching it!
Decoded: how do black holes work? || Scientific American on Youtube
If you want to hear black holes explained in three minutes, this is the video for you! Direct and to the point, this video makes it easy for anyone to understand black holes--excellent for introducing others to the topic!
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