Black Hole

 

A "black hole" in space is a giant star that has burned up its nuclear fuel and collapsed. So why is it black? Shouldn't it be bright? It is a star, after all.

Nope. Some stars are so big (like 10 or more times the size of our sun), that when they get old, they collapse into a tiny dot. And the dot has so much gravity, that its light beams cannot escape the surface.

It's tough for Rocket Team scientists to study black holes since you cannot really see them.

What they can see, however, is the effect the invisible black hole has on stuff around it.

A black hole is like a vacuum cleaner that sucks everything into it. As stars and planets and gas get pulled in, they pick up speed and crash into each other, leaving a glowing hot disk around the black hole.

Pip and I were discussing black holes, and I said, "These are pretty scary things.  I mean, they can swallow an entire star. I'm glad none are near us."

Pip said, "A guy once told me that black holes aren't frightening."

So I said, "I don't think he understands the gravity of the situation! Get it? Gravity?"

It's a good day when you can make a robot groan.

More info: https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes

If you ever see a black hole, send me a picture at

RamoneRocketeer -at- gmail -dot- com.