• Question: what is inside a black hole in space?

    Asked by nathaniel to Laura, Asif, Lena, Sean, Viv on 13 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by ads123.
    • Photo: Laura Waters

      Laura Waters answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      A black hole is a weird thing to understand! The term was used 40 years ago to describe an effect where gravity is so strong it sucks everything in, even light. So we can’t see them! However, we can detect the strong gravity effect. Very strange indeed.

    • Photo: Sean Murphy

      Sean Murphy answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      Although the name implies that a black hole is empty (like a hole) it is actually the opposite, a very dense mass of matter. A black hole is often caused by the death and collapse of a massive star. It becomes such a dense, compacted mass that it’s gravity pulls everything into it, including light. After a black hole has formed it can continue to grow by absorbing mass from its surroundings.

      Have a look at what NASA says about black holes
      http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html

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