Black Hole | The Schools' Observatory

Stellar Evolution

All stars form in nebulae, huge clouds of gas and dust.

Though they shine for thousands of years, stars do not last forever. The changes that occur in a star over time and the final stage of its life depends on a star's size.

A diagram showing the stages in the life cycle of a star. "Creation" is at the top, also labelled "Stellar Nebula" along with a graphic of a pink swirly cloud. Two arrows point left and right with the label "Main Sequence". On the left is "High Mass Star", a blue circle, and arrows lead to the next stages which are "Red Supergiant", "Supernova", "Neutron Star" and "Black Hole". The right arrow leads to a "Low Mass Star", a yellow circle. Arrows then point to the next stages.

Galaxies

A galaxy is a large collection of stars, dust and gas. They are surrounded by dark matter, and are held together by gravity.

An image of the galaxy M64. There is bright white-yellow sphere in the centre, giving off a glow. Dark brown and black clouds of dust form a pinwheel shape around the centre. Within these clouds are numerous bright white dots of stars, though some appear more blue or red in colour. There are also a few stars visible against the black background. — The spiral galaxy M64

Blackholes

Black holes are very strange objects. They are made during supernova explosions. These take place when very massive stars come to the end of their lives.

A fuzzy orange and yellow ring-like shape with a fuzzy black circle in the centre. The shape is against a black background. — The black hole at the centre of Messier 87

What is Gravity?

Read more about What is Gravity?

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