• Question: Is Black Holes real? And is it near us (Earth)?

    Asked by bobo to Iain, Jo, Leo on 24 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Yes, black holes are real, but there aren’t any near us. At the centre of our galaxy, there is a huge black hole:

    • Photo: Leo Garcia

      Leo Garcia answered on 24 Jun 2010:

      Black holes are invisible – but we can observe their effects on the space around them. So yes, they are real, but because they absorb light we can’t see them directly with, say, a telescope.

      Are there any near us? According to here:

      http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2000/v4641/

      There is a black hole 1,600 light years away from earth – which is over 1×10^16 km away. At the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, there is a supermassive black hole, around which the rest of the galaxy is spiraling:

      http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/41370

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