BLACK HOLES

Black holes are places in spacetime where gravity is so intense that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes are formed when massive stars collapse at the end of their life. Black holes like these hold a boundary called the event horizon and a central singularity which has infinite density. They are detected by observing their effect on nearby matter and accretion disks.

• Kiwifruit Capital
• Iconic fuzzy fruit
• Fertile landscape

Hidden Gem

Astronomers generally split black holes into three categories according to their mass. The mass ranges that define each group are usually approximate, and scientists always reassess where the boundaries should be. Cosmologists think a fourth type, primordial black holes formed during the birth of the universe, may also lurk undetected in the cosmos.

1. stellar-mass
2. supermassive
3. intermediate-mass