How big is a black hole?

These types of black holes are only a few miles across. Black holes have also been discovered in the centers of some galaxies. These black holes are very large and contain the same amount of material as 100 million or more suns. These types of black holes are several million miles across.

How big is the smallest black hole?

NASA scientists have identified the lightest black hole yet, just 3.8 times the mass of the sun, in a binary star system in the Milky Way known as XTE J1650-500. The next smallest black hole, spotted in 1994, weighed in at 6.3 solar masses.

Are black holes the size of Earth?

Where this event horizon starts depends on the mass of the black hole and was first calculated by German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild in 1916. Using the Schwarzschild radius calculation, a black hole the size of Earth would have a radius of less than one inch, making it about as big as a ping pong ball.

How many suns does it take to make a black hole?

The smallest black holes may cram as much matter as three million Earths into a single tiny point. Some black holes, called supermassive black holes, may have as much matter as 1000 million Suns! The more matter something has, and the closer an object is to that matter, the stronger the gravity.

How big or small a black hole can be?

Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff,” in an object.

What is the average size of a black hole?

The size of a black hole depends on the size of the star. There are three sizes of black holes: The smallest of the black holes have a mass of a large mountain and a size of about an atom. The medium sized black holes usually are expected to have a mass of about 20 Sun masses and a size in the order of 30km.

How big would Earth be in a black hole?

The more massive an object, the bigger its diameter once it becomes a black hole. If the Earth became a black hole it would have a diameter of about 0.017 meters, about the size of a marble. Our Sun would have a diameter of about 6000 meters, just a little less than 4 miles.

Is there a maximum limit to the size of a black hole?

Black holes have a size limit of 50 billion suns. When black holes at the hearts of galaxies swell to 50 billion times the mass of our sun, they may lose the discs of gas they use as cosmic feedlots. Most galaxies host a supermassive black hole at their centre. Around this is a region of space where gas settles into an orbiting disc.