How far can you compress something before you reach nature’s ultimate breaking point—that is, before you create a black hole? Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well ...

It can be easy for one to feel insignificant in this universe. After all, we are small creatures on a relatively small rock that orbits one of many billion stars within one of many billion galaxies.

A black hole is a celestial body whose gravity is so great that even the fastest light in the world cannot escape. Black holes are not within reach of humans, but what happens if humans approach a ...

This illustration shows how photons are bent around a black hole by its gravity. The size of the shadow of a black hole is different from the size of the event horizon, which are both different than ...

Pretty much anything could, in theory, become a black hole if it were squeezed down small enough. At what point would the Earth become a (very unimpressive) black hole in space? We’re going to figure ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Paul Sutter is an astrophysicist at The Ohio State University and the chief scientist at COSI ...

Black holes are some weird objects. Their hallmark is having a gravitational pull so strong that light can’t even escape it. With a gravitational field that intense, it it possible for black holes to ...

The accretion disk, X rays, and the rest of what you see in an artist’s conception of a black hole aren’t coming from inside the hole. Particles are falling into the black hole. The key concept here ...