Black Hole Week 2019

September 23, 2019 - September 27, 2019

Monday, September 23

Video: NASA's Guide to Black Hole Safety

Have you ever thought about visiting a black hole? We sure hope not. However, if you're absolutely convinced that a black hole is your ideal vacation spot, watch this video before you blast off to learn more about them and (more importantly) how to stay safe.

A cartoon brochure called, "Black Hole Safety Information Card."

Printable field guide: Black Hole Safety Information Card

Keep this helpful brochure in your spacesuit pocket! It will give you all the tips, tricks, and facts you'll need for your next (inadvisable) black hole vacation!

Blog: 10 Questions You Might Have About Black Holes

Check out these 10 things you might want to know about black holes.

Tuesday, September 24

News feature: Black Hole Seeds Missing in Cosmic Garden

In the vast garden of the universe, the heaviest black holes grew from seeds. But unlike in the realm of plants, the seeds of giant black holes must have been black holes, too. And no one has ever found these intermediate seeds – yet.

Tumblr: Hubble’s Weirdest Black Hole Discoveries

Some of Hubble’s most exciting observations have been about black holes. As if black holes weren’t wild enough already, Hubble has helped us make discoveries that show us they’re even weirder than we thought!

Video: Zoom In on Galaxy M87

This movie zooms into galaxy M87 using visible light, X-ray, and radio pictures of the galaxy, its jet of high-speed particles, and the shadow of its central black hole.

Wednesday, September 25

News feature: NASA Visualization Shows a Black Hole’s Warped World

This new visualization of a black hole illustrates how its gravity distorts our view, warping its surroundings as if seen in a carnival mirror.

News feature: Found: Three Black Holes On Collision Course

Astronomers have spotted three giant black holes within a titanic collision of three galaxies. The unusual system was captured by several observatories, including three NASA space telescopes.

Tumblr: Five Reasons You Wouldn’t Want to Live Near a Black Hole

While there are a lot of ideas about black holes that are more science fiction than science, there are a few ways Hollywood has vastly underestimated how absolutely horrid black holes really are.

Thursday, September 26

News feature: NASA’s TESS Mission Spots Its 1st Star-shredding Black Hole

For the first time, NASA’s planet-hunting Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) watched a black hole tear apart a star in a cataclysmic phenomenon called a tidal disruption event. Follow-up observations by other facilities have produced the most detailed look yet at the early moments of one of these star-destroying occurrences.

Image feature: Why the Sun Won't Become a Black Hole

Will the Sun become a black hole? No, it's too small for that! But what will happen to the Sun?

Image feature: Finding Intermediate-Sized Black Holes

In this image, a galaxy called ESO 243-49 is home to an extremely bright object called HLX-1, which is the most likely example of a black hole in the intermediate mass range that scientists have found.

Friday, September 27

Reddit AMA: We are scientists who study black holes using NASA missions and data! Ask Us Anything!

Black hole scientists are gathering today to chat and answer your questions about these exotic and often misunderstood cosmic objects!