![]() ![]() clocks might appear to tick more slowly than those found further away from the black hole. There's even "gravitational time dilation" that occurs around the object - i.e. The closer you get to a black hole, the deadlier the radiation around it becomes. But as the video points out, it's much too dangerous to get too close to see, which obviously makes studying them difficult. That's one good indicator, according to NASA. For instance, black holes might be found when stars appear to orbit around nothing, meaning you see "glowing stuff" surrounding the area where a planet might be. The nearest black hole to Earth is 3,000 light years away, but if they're invisible, how can we even point one out? Well, that's basically a case of inspecting things that orbit around them. NASA's video does a good job of giving you a rundown of what a black hole actually is, without getting too far into the weeds. There are "supermassive" black holes, which are extremely large, or even "stellar" black holes, with mass of up to 20 times more than the sun. No matter the size, all black holes possess a ridiculous amount of mass, or the amount of matter in the object. They can be large or small, and scientists believe there are some as tiny as the size of an atom. The light emitted by the black holes' disks of gas and other material it's "sucked in" essentially allowed scientists to get a picture of it.īut as large as they seem, black holes are not always huge, menacing spots in space. Interestingly enough, the first picture of a black hole was just captured this year in April, thanks to a network of telescopes called the Event Horizon Telescope. Because of this, black holes are actually invisible, though powerful space telescopes are capable of finding them with a variety of tools that can detect them. ![]() Its textbook definition is that it's a "region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape." NASA's explanation for younger space fans says it best: it's a "place in space" where gravity is pulling so much that nothing, not even light, is capable of getting out. What is a black hole, anyway? It's actually not a hole, a portal to another dimension, and not a "vacuum," as the video reminds us. The alien in the video is understandably a bit sad about this, but hey, at least it can retain its vaguely human-like shape. If you're allergic to realistic scientific portrayals, this video should capture your attention much more readily.įor one, the video warns, you should definitely not take a vacation to a black hole or spend any time around one. Created in celebration of NASA's Black Hole Week (yes, that's very much a thing), this oddly cute little clip features cartoony monsters learning the basics of black hole science. When it comes to black holes, NASA is doing its due diligence to make sure everyone knows a little bit more about these enigmas of space – specifically, the dangers of getting too closed to one and turned into a giant human noodle. ![]()
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