Vocabulary: Black Holes - The Other Side of Infinity
Big Bang
A theory of the creation of the universe from an ultra-compact volume with very high
temperatures about 14 billion years ago. The ultra-compact volume began expanding
and is responsible for the expanding motion we see today.
Black Hole
The collapsed core for the most massive stars. Formed from the total collapse of a
core greater than 3 solar masses to an infinitesimal point of infinite density. Gravity
in the region surrounding the collapsed core is so strong that the escape velocity
is greater than the speed of light.
Event Horizon
The very edge of a black hole where there is no escape for even a beam of light.
Galaxy
A very large cluster of stars (tens of millions to trillions of stars) gravitationally
bound together.
Gravity
A physical force that pulls objects together, the larger the mass of the object, the
greater the force but the larger the distance between the objects, the weaker the
gravity.
Milky Way Galaxy
The large spiral galaxy in which our Sun and planets reside. Our Sun is one star of
several hundred billion in the Milky Way.
Red Giant
A dying star that has become large in diameter and cool on the surface while the core
has shrunk and increased in temperature.
Supernova
Final huge mass-loss stage for a dying high-mass star where the outer layers are ejected
during the core's collapse to form a neutron star.
