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You are here: Home / Language / Why Is a Black Hole Black, Where Do Black Holes Come From, and When Were Black Holes First Discovered?

Why Is a Black Hole Black, Where Do Black Holes Come From, and When Were Black Holes First Discovered?

April 28, 2020 by Karen Hill

Black holes in space seem to be a recent phenomenon, yet Albert Einstein (1879-1955) predicted them in his theory of relativity in 1915.

They are the incredibly dense centres of dead stars.

Black holes appear black because their gravitational fields are so huge that even light can’t escape.

We find and measure black holes by calculating the orbits and other behaviors of nearby stars or gas clouds.

Black holes capture our imagination because we believe that should we fly a spacecraft anywhere near them they will capture us.

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken pictures of many suspected black holes.

One is the core of Galaxy NGC 4261.

Black holes are formed when a large star experience a gravitational collapse, usually at the end of its life, or when it becomes a supernova.

The idea of black holes was first proposed by geologist John Michell in a letter written to Henry Cavendish in 1783 to the Royal Society.

Related Facts

  • Who Discovered Black Holes and Where do Black Holes come from?
  • How Do Stars Become Black Holes and When Was the First Black Hole Discovered?
  • How do astronomers know how far away stars and galaxies are from earth?
  • Who Discovered that the Universe is Expanding and millions of galaxies move away from its center?
  • How do Astronomers find a black hole if black holes are invisible?
  • What Is a Black Hole, How Are Black Holes Created, and What Would Happen If You Fell Into a Black Hole?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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