black hole
Supermassive black holes can contain millions or billions of solar masses. This topic is part of Astronomy within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 17 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
black hole trivia questions
A black hole has gravity so strong that even what cannot escape beyond its event horizon?
Answer: Light
Bonus fact: The escape speed inside the event horizon exceeds the speed of light.
What boundary surrounds a black hole beyond which escape is impossible?
Answer: Event horizon
Bonus fact: The event horizon is the point of no return.
What type of black hole is thought to lie at the center of most large galaxies?
Answer: Supermassive black hole
Bonus fact: Supermassive black holes can contain millions or billions of solar masses.
Messier 87 is famous for hosting the first black hole ever what?
Answer: Imaged directly
Bonus fact: The Event Horizon Telescope released the image of M87* in 2019.
What is the name commonly given to the black hole at the center of M87?
Answer: M87*
Bonus fact: The Event Horizon Telescope released the image of M87* in 2019.
Why can quasars be seen from billions of light-years away?
Answer: They are extraordinarily luminous
Bonus fact: Accretion around supermassive black holes can outshine entire galaxies.
What lies near the center of the Milky Way?
Answer: Supermassive black hole
Bonus fact: Sagittarius A* is the central supermassive black hole.
A kilonova is an explosive event associated with the merger of what?
Answer: Neutron stars
Bonus fact: Some kilonovae can also involve a neutron star merging with a black hole.
Centaurus A is especially famous for being a strong source of what?
Answer: Radio waves
Bonus fact: Centaurus A contains a supermassive black hole and a prominent dust lane.
Centaurus A is also cataloged as what?
Answer: NGC 5128
Bonus fact: Centaurus A contains a supermassive black hole and a prominent dust lane.
What lies at the center of Centaurus A?
Answer: A supermassive black hole
Bonus fact: Centaurus A contains a supermassive black hole and a prominent dust lane.
Which observatory made the first direct detection of gravitational waves?
Answer: LIGO
Bonus fact: The detected waves came from the merger of two black holes more than a billion light-years away.