Black Holes

Black Holes

A black hole is a celestial object of such intense gravity that it attracts everything near it and then prevents everything, including light, from ever escaping.
Black holes are even fainter than neutron stars, so signs of a black hole must be looked for, rather than its actual presence. If a black hole is located in a binary system, there is a good chance of detecting it, since the black hole will attract material from its companion star. The matter will swirl around the black hole before it enters, and heat up until it gives off x-rays. So, x-ray sources must be studied in order to see if a black hole is present. If the sources have too much mass to be neutron stars, then it is concluded that the object is a black hole. [VH] {SR} {EP}