Black Hole Images | Universe Today

Written by Fraser Cain

Here are some cool black hole images.

Smallest Known Black Hole

This is an artist's illustration of the smallest known black hole, recently discovered by astronomers. Of course, astronomers don't actually know how small a black hole really is, so this is all about the size of the black hole's event horizon.

Black Hole

Here's a picture of a black hole pulling material away from a nearby stellar companion. Sometimes this is the only way you can detect a black hole, since it's invisible unless it's feeding on material.

Fast-Flying Black Hole

This is an artist's illustration of a low-mass black hole spewing out jets from its poles. These microquasars form when a black hole sucks material off a stellar companion.

Galactic Black Hole with Optical Jet

This is an artist's image of a huge optical jets blasting out of a galaxy that contains a supermassive black hole at its center. We don't see the black hole itself, but the superheated torus of gas and dust surrounding the black hole. This material heats up to mimic the cores of stars, releasing a tremendous amount of energy.

Spinning Black Holes

Here's an image of what a supermassive black hole might look like. You can see the dark sphere – the event horizon – in the middle, surrounded by a swirling disk of gas and dust. The rapid rotation of the black hole creates powerful magnetic fields which whip up the the material and form powerful jets that can travel for hundreds of light-years.

We've written many stories about black holes for Universe Today. Here's an article about a black hole breaking the distance record, and here's an article about how an intermediate mass black hole could be destroying stars.

If you'd like more info on black holes, check out NASA's World Book on Black Holes, and here's more information from NASA from their educational pages.

We've also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about black holes. Listen here, Episode 18: Black Holes Big and Small.

Filed under: Astronomy