Black+Holes+-+MS

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Rubric: [[file:Space Exploration Adventure Rubric.doc]], [[file:Space Exploration Adventure Rubric.pdf]]
Black holes can be seen at the center of every galaxy, including ours. The black holes that started to form after the big bang are the Primordial black holes. Stellar black holes form when a star collapses upon itself. This can cause a supernova, which blasts parts of the star off into space. For Supermassive black holes, scientists think that they form right about when the galaxy in which they are in forms. The size of the galaxy it is in also effects how big it is. But not all stars that collapse cause black holes. For instance, if our sun ran out of nuclear fuel, then it would collapse. It would, however, not cause a black hole. The star collapses would have to be about over 20 times as much mass as our sun. When it collapses, the star heats up and some parts of its outer layer activates the nuclear reaction, forming the black hole known as a supernova. The core of the star may either become a neutron star and stop the collapsing, or it keeps collapsing into the black hole, depending on how big the star is.
 * Written Information: **
 * How do black holes form?**

Black holes cannot just simply travel the universe swallowing all the planets in its path. They follow the laws of gravity just like all the other planets. A black hole would have to be very close to our solar system to swallow or destroy Earth. Fortunately, that is a very unlikely possibility. If a black hole that happened to be the same size and density as our sun destroyed it, Earth would ont be sucked inside. It would, actually, keep rotating and revolving around the black hole as if it was the sun, though we would not survive without the sun.
 * Can a black hole destroy Earth?**

Visuals Make sure to include the location of your image; add a caption with this information || ||   ||
 * [[image:http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/279256main_BlackHole_1-xltn.jpg width="226" height="170" align="bottom" caption="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-is-a-black-hole-58.html"]] || media type="custom" key="13055426"[[image:http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/279259main_BlackHole_4-xltn.jpg width="226" height="170" align="bottom" caption="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/what-is-a-black-hole-58.html"]] ||  ||
 * [[image:http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/images/hs-1997-12-a-small_web.jpg caption="http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1997/12/image/a/"]]

**Works Cited** **Sources** : Include the source information for all of the magazine articles, reference sources (encyclopedias) and web site pages that were used to complete your project. The source information for encyclopedias may be found at the end or beginning of each entry in iCONN. When using periodicals, the publication information will be at the beginning or end of the article. This needs to be formatted for MLA standards. If it is not labeled 'Source Citation' it can be formatted appropriately by using EasyBib.com. You should use EasyBib for the web sites. The final Works Cited should be listed in alphabetical order by the first word of the source citation. "Milky Way." //Kids InfoBits Presents: Astronomy//. Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Kids InfoBits. Detroit: Gale, 2012. "The Milky Way." //WMAP's Universe//. NASA, 28 June 2010. Web. 06 Mar. 2012. []. Vergano, Dan. "Galaxy Bracketed by Big Bubbles." //USA Today// 10 Nov. 2010: 05A. Web. 6 Mar. 2012.
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[] [] [|http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/blackholes/teacher/sciencebackground.html#6]

**Topic: Research Focus**
 * What is your topic? Black Holes.**
 * State the focus of your research: How black holes form and the possibility of a black hole destroying Earth.**

Notes Primordial black holes are thought to have formed in the early universe, soon after the big bang.
 * How Do Black Holes Form?**

Stellar black holes form when the center of a very massive star collapses in upon itself. This collapse also causes a supernova, or an exploding star, that blasts part of the star into space.

Scientists think supermassive black holes formed at the same time as the galaxy they are in. The size of the supermassive black hole is related to the size and mass of the galaxy it is in.

Black holes do not wander around the universe, randomly swallowing worlds. They follow the laws of gravity just like other objects in space. The orbit of a black hole would have to be very close to the solar system to affect Earth, which is not likely.
 * Could a Black Hole Destroy Earth?**

If a black hole with the same mass as the sun were to replace the sun, Earth would not fall in. The black hole with the same mass as the sun would keep the same gravity as the sun. The planets would still orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now.

Only stars with very large masses can become black holes. Our Sun, for example, is not massive enough to become a black hole. Four billion years from now when the Sun runs out of the available nuclear fuel in its core, our Sun will die a quiet death. Stars of this type end their history as white dwarf stars. More massive stars, such as those with masses of over 20 times our Sun's mass, may eventually create a black hole. When a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel it can no longer sustain its own weight and begins to collapse. When this occurs the star heats up and some fraction of its outer layer, which often still contains some fresh nuclear fuel, activates the nuclear reaction again and explodes in what is called a supernova. The remaining innermost fraction of the star, the core, continues to collapse. Depending on how massive the core is, it may become either a neutron star and stop the collapse or it may continue to collapse into a black hole. The dividing mass of the core, which determines its fate, is about 2.5 solar masses. It is thought that to produce a core of 2.5 solar masses the ancestral star should begin with over 20 solar masses. A black hole formed from a star is called a stellar black hole.
 * Do all stars become black holes?**