In a recent post, we explored the estimated number of
planets in the universe which could be as high as 1028 including
rogue planets (not orbiting a star). The existence of black holes has been predicted
for over a hundred years, but it wasn’t until 1964 when a black hole was
actually detected (Cygnus X-1).
A black hole cannot be directly observed, but clear evidence for its presence can be detected as material is accelerated toward the black hole and is heated or by a black hole’s large mass can deflect light from stars. In the Astrophysical Journal this month, a paper provided an estimate of the black holes in the universe to be 40 x 1018 (40 quintillion) and they may make up 1% of the matter of the universe.
Image: NASA Goddard Media Studio - GMS: Black Hole Accretion Disk Visualization (nasa.gov)
Also see possible black hole image at M87.
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