fact checked by Darci Heikkinen
Black holes are bizarre yet fascinating objects. Regions of space and time are so dense and have such strong gravitational attraction that they consume anything and everything that might wander too close. Not even light can escape their pull, making it impossible to see directly. Instead, scientists scour the cosmos for a lack of photons—a sudden drop in light particles—or for the radiation they emit.
Technology in astronomy is constantly improving, and as it does, we move further forward in our understanding of these mysterious giants. Every month heralds a new breakthrough. Sometimes, it’s an observation of a black hole ripping a star to shreds or two of them devouring a shared gas cloud. At other times, scientists come up with extravagant new theories, like the idea of cosmic censorship or the idea that the universe, as we know it, might be part of a black hole of unimaginable size. Here are ten of the most breathtaking recent black hole moments for you to try and get your head around.
Cosmic Censorship: Why We Cannot See the Inside of a Black Hole
Einstein’s theory of general relativity redefined the way we think about gravity. His groundbreaking work predicted points of infinite density scattered across the cosmos. These are known as singularities—points at which the fabric of time and space becomes distorted chaos, and the laws of physics fall apart. Singularities exist at the heart of every black hole.
So, how come when we look out at the universe, we don’t see these points contorting time and space into an unknowable cataclysm? For this, we turn to British physicist Roger Penrose. He proposed that singularities are shielded by the black holes’ event horizons. He called this idea the cosmic censorship conjecture.
Penrose’s hypothesis is fascinating, but it is based on scarce evidence. For decades, scientists have been unable to find much to prove or disprove it. Discoveries about the behavior of tiny particles could change all that. Researchers applied Penrose’s ideas to quantum mechanics and discovered what’s known as quantum cosmic censorship.
Scientists are now bringing in ideas around the mass and energy of space-time and the second law of thermodynamics. This far-out research could pave the way for a more rigorous explanation for why we cannot see the anarchic inequalities that lurk inside black holes.
Supermassive Black Hole Defies All Theoretical Limits
At the heart of a galaxy 12 billion light-years from Earth lies a black hole like none other scientists have ever seen. Supermassive guzzler LID-568 eats up matter at 40 times the theoretical limit. It sucks in surrounding cosmic material and spews out intense X-ray emissions, which is what drew researchers to its existence. They located the record-breaking beast thanks to readings from the James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory.
The gargantuan glutton formed 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. That might sound like an enormous amount of time, but the universe was still in its infancy. Scientists hope that by studying LID-568, they can learn how supermassive black holes became huge so soon after the Big Bang.
