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Black hole
Introduction & Top Questions References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & Videos
black hole in M87 black hole
Visualization of approaching a supermassive black hole, showing a glowing orange accretion disk curving around a dark event horizon with distant stars and galaxies in the background.
How Big Are the Biggest Black Holes?
dust disk around black hole in NGC 4261 Diagram illustrating stellar evolution, showing how stars form from a nebula, then follow different paths based on mass: low- and medium-mass stars become red giants, then planetary nebulae, and end as white dwarfs; high-mass stars become red supergiants, explode as supernovae, and end as either neutron stars or black holes.
Uncover insight into the black hole
What are gravitational waves and how were they first detected?
How are gravitational waves applied in science and in everyday life?
Know about the discovery of gravitational waves and their role in unlocking secrets of the universe
At a Glance
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black hole summary
Quizzes
View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
Astronomy and Space Quiz
The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
Space Odyssey
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
Brightest Star in the Solar System
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
M101 (NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy). Hubble Space Telescope image of face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101). Largest most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has ever been released from Hubble. Created from 1994-2003
Everything in Space in a 25-Minute Quiz
Related Questions

Black hole: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Article title updated for style. Nov 09, 2026
Modified link of Web site: Physics LibreTexts - Black Holes. Sep 22, 2026
Media added. Aug 17, 2026
Add new Web site: University of Chicago News - What is a black hole? Apr 29, 2026
Add new Web site: IOPscience - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics - Hawking radiation and the quantum marginal problem. Aug 30, 2025
Questions and answers added. Mar 13, 2025
Add new Web site: Cell Press - Heliyon - Radiating Kerr black hole and Hawking radiation (PDF). Jan 03, 2025
Add new Web site: ABC Listen - Program: Mathematician Sir Roger Penrose and The Road To Reality (transcript available). Nov 12, 2024
Add new Web site: California Institute of Technology - Department of Astronomy - The Origins and the Early Evolution of Quasars and Supermassive Black Holes. Apr 05, 2024
Add new Web site: Center for Astrophysics - Black Holes. Nov 07, 2023
Add new Web site: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Black Holes. Sep 05, 2023
Video and image added. May 31, 2023
Add new Web site: LiveScience - Black holes: The darkest objects in the universe. Jan 05, 2023
Add new Web site: Physics LibreTexts - Black Holes. Nov 11, 2022
Add new Web site: Space.com - Black holes: Everything you need to know. Aug 24, 2022
Add new Web site: Star Date - Black Hole. Apr 22, 2022
Removed media. Dec 15, 2021
Corrected display issue. Jun 08, 2021
Changed “4,154,000 Suns” to “more than 4,000,000 Suns.” Added material about Andrea Ghez and Reinhard Genzel receiving the Nobel Prize for their work on Sagittarius A*. Oct 13, 2020
Article revised and updated. May 19, 2020
Add new Web site: Space Dictionary - Black Hole Facts. Jun 15, 2019
Added photograph of the black hole in M87. Apr 10, 2019
Added material about the Event Horizon Telescope image of the black hole in M87. Apr 10, 2019
Add new Web site: Mr.Nussbaum - Black Hole. Jul 19, 2018
Corrected display issue. Mar 14, 2018
Add new Web site: NASA - What Is a Black Hole? Dec 18, 2017
Add new Web site: American Museum of Natural History - The Country Parson Who Conceived of Black Holes. Jun 30, 2017
Add new Web site: PlanetFacts.org - Black Hole. May 04, 2017
Add new Web site: National Geographic Kids - Space - Black Hole. May 04, 2017
Add new Web site: ESA Kids - Black Holes. Oct 06, 2016
Media added. May 03, 2016
Added material clarifying that only the core of a star becomes a black hole. Apr 26, 2016
Media added. Apr 13, 2016
Media added. Apr 13, 2016
Added photograph. Jul 02, 2015
Add new Web site: Kidipede Science for Kids - Physics - Black Hole. Aug 06, 2014
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Black Hole. Mar 11, 2013
Add new Web site: National Aeronautics and Space Administration - What Is a Black Hole? Mar 11, 2013
Add new Web site: KidsAstronomy - Black Hole. Mar 11, 2013
Add new Web site: India Parenting - The Black Hole. Sep 13, 2012
Mass of M87 black hole updated from "two to three billion Suns" to "six billion Suns." Material about large black holes in NGC 3842 and NGC 4889 added. Jan 31, 2012
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Solar Energy. Jan 19, 2012
Add new Web site: North Carolina Historic Sites - Biography of Braxton Bragg. Jan 19, 2012
Added video depicting the formation of accretion disks around black holes. Feb 09, 2011
Age of universe updated from 13.7 to 13.8 billion years. Jul 14, 2010
Article revised and updated. Apr 21, 2009
Added new Web site: Sea and Sky - Black Holes. Apr 16, 2009
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Science - Black Hole. Apr 16, 2009
Article revised and updated. Feb 18, 2009
Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Black Holes Work. Feb 11, 2009
Added new Web site: Morehead Planetarium and Science Center - Black Holes. May 22, 2007
Article revised and updated. Mar 09, 2007
Added new Web site: Cambridge Relativity - Black Hole. Nov 22, 2006
Added new Web site: Virtual Trips to Black Holes and Neutron Stars. Sep 22, 2006
Article revised. May 27, 1999
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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