10 Mind-Blowing Facts About Black Holes You Probably Didn’t Know

We call it black holes because they are actually invisible to our tiny and weak human eyes. I mean some of us can’t even see without our glasses.

Joking aside, it is because even light can’t escape this monstrous gravitational pull. However, those are just tiny details that most people already know. Let’s discuss some facts and theories that even experts might miss.

Let’s start with everyone’s fantasy, of falling into a black hole, and no, it will not be like that specific movie you are thinking about.

1. If you fall into a black hole, there is no returning, unlike the movie, Interstellar.

There is a theory called “spaghettification”.

Yes, it is named after your favorite pasta. But with that out of the way, if you fell into a black hole there is no coming back, unlike our favorite space movie, Interstellar.

Your body will be turned into long and thin shapes, just like any other planet and space object it absorbs.

2. Black Holes are one of the few astronomical objects that can slow down time.

Let’s say you have a friend who went into a black hole while you are just watching. To you, that friend will appear to be moving a slow motion because of time dilation, due to the strong gravitational pull.

This theory is based on Albert Einstein’s general relativity. So, what do you think? Maybe we can use it to create a time machine of some sort?

3. As mentioned earlier, they are actually invisible. We can only indirectly detect it, commonly when they are feeding on nearby planets, stars, etc…

Since black holes don’t emit light, which is necessary for us to see, they are not visible to the naked eye. However, their gravitation pull will be observable, especially when they are feeding off a planet or other space objects.

The light of those objects can also signify that it is being sucked into a black hole. Those are some of the clues astronomers use to detect them.

4. Just like other space objects, black holes have different sizes.

Yes, not all black holes are created equally. Some are small, medium, and large. But commonly referred to as stellar, intermediate, and supermassive.

It is actually believed that there are smaller black holes as small as an atom. How about that?

5. The closest black hole is within our neighborhood galaxy.

The black hole Gaia BH1 is the name of the nearest black hole and it is actually within our very own galaxy at about 1,600 light years away.

It is said that Gaia has 10 times the mass of our sun. That’s really heavy you know. It will easily eat us up together with our planet buddies. Luckily it is far.

6. Sometimes black holes actually release jets of particles and energy, and not just consume all the time.

Black holes are famous for consuming everything in their path. However, astronomers believe that some of them can release jets of energy that could travel at the speed of light from the accretion disk.

However, if you are thinking that if you fell into one, it might actually spit you out, that is not how that works. Those black hole jets are mainly energy and small particles from the accretion disk.

Here is a short video we found on it.

7. Two black holes can actually merge to create a supermassive one. Scary, right?

When two massive black holes meet, because of their intense gravitational pull, they won’t be able to escape each other, turning them into one supermassive and larger black hole.

Those gigantic objects if they collide, will send ripples to space and time across the nearby galaxies. As we said, scary, right?

8. Black holes are not permanent; they can disappear and evaporate over billions or trillions of years.

This one is according to Stephen Hawking’s theory that, since they emit a tiny amount of radiation, now named Hawking radiation, they can slowly lose mass and eventually evaporate after trillions of years.

9. Supermassive black holes influence galaxy formation and shape.

This one is commonly known too, as supermassive black holes can eat up planets, stars, and other black holes; they can easily influence a whole galaxy, especially the supermassive ones.

Their gravitational pull will cause the nearby objects to circulate around them, causing that spiral look of galaxies.

10. Though not proven, black holes might be the gateways to other universes.

Although this one is another theory that is not proven yet, some scientists and astronomers believe that these black holes might be our gateways to cross to other universes.

They might be wormholes that function as a connector between distant space and time. This idea has crossed the minds of a lot of people not just those who study space and astronomy.

It is very intriguing to think about, so it sparks endless curiosity among the public about what really lies ahead.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, black holes are massive astronomical objects that we know little about. Most of the knowledge we have gathered is actually theories that have not been proven rather than verifiable facts.

However, we all can hope that one day, we learn the truth about them, and hopefully too, not encounter one in our lifetime as a civilization. Let’s just let them be the magnificent and beautiful phenomena that we observe from afar.