Black Hole
A region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape.
Also: singularity
Definition
A black hole is a region of spacetime where the gravitational field is so intense that nothing—not even light or other electromagnetic radiation—can escape once it crosses the event horizon (the point of no return). Black holes form from the gravitational collapse of massive stars after supernova explosions, or through other extreme processes. Supermassive black holes, millions to billions of times the Sun's mass, reside at the centers of most galaxies.
Example
“In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration produced the first direct image of a black hole—the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy M87, 6.5 billion times the Sun's mass—by linking radio telescopes across Earth into a planet-sized array.”
Synonyms
- singularity
- gravitational singularity
- collapsed star core
Antonyms / Opposites
- white dwarf
- neutron star
Images
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Related Terms
- Stellar Evolution
- General Relativity
- Neutron Star
- Event Horizon