BLACK HOLES: ARE THEY REAL OR IMAGINARY

Black Hole, well we all heard this name in science fiction movies and cartoons but do they exist in the galaxy?

According to the scientific definition, a Black Hole is “a region of space time where gravity is so strong that nothing – no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light can escape from it.”

The theory of relativity predicts that sufficiently compact mass can transform space-time to form a black hole. They are like a point in space, they create a deep gravity sink from which nothing can escape from it. Anything that comes close to a black hole- be it a star, planet or spacecraft will be compressed into a black hole.

Now the question rises, can we survive in a black hole? as mentioned above nothing can escape a black hole, it’s a one-way trip you can go but can’t come back. The reason behind itis the gravity is too strong and they are dense as well, it is not possible to go back in space and time to return home and the radiation surrounding the event horizon and warping of space will stretch you and destroy you.

Reality Behind the Black Holes

Black Holes are the most fascinating objects in space, they are like strong gravitational attraction. It is predicted that the Milky way could contain over 100 million black holes, it is very difficult to detect this tiny beast at the heart of the Milky way lies the supermassive black hole.

In 2019, the first image of a black hole was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). The enchanted and mesmerizing photo of the black hole captured at the center of the M87 galaxy 55 million light-years away from us. Albert Einstein predicted the existence of a black hole in 1916 with the help of his general theory of relativity but the name black hole come into existence many years later in 1967 by astronomer John Wheeler. For many years black holes is only known as theoretical objects.

The first black hole discovered was Cygnus X-1, which is located within the Milky Way, the first sign of a black hole was seen by the Swan Astronomers in 1964 when the rocket detected the celestial source of X-rays. After that in 1971, astronomers came to know that the X-rays were coming from a bright blue star orbiting a strange dark object. It was predicted that the detected X-rays are the result of stellar material stripped away from the bright star, gobbled by the dark object,and consuming a black hole.

Can Black Holes harm us?

Well, black holes can’t harm us we are out of range from them and have no danger from black holes. It is the most common question that comes to our mind after watchingSiFi movies and cartoons that we will meet a black hole on our way to work or school but the reality is you are probably not going to meet one. They are too far from us to reach.

Is it possible to stop the Black Hole?

There is nothing that can stop the black hole as we can’t stop time but maybe in the future, we will discover a way to stop them. However, at the center of the black hole where our understanding stops, according to Einstein’s theory of gravity, time itself is destroyed at the center of the hole.

Many questions rise in our mind regarding black holes, is it science or imaginary or you can consider it imaginary science? The existence of black holes always amazes us.