Black Hole Database
By Hogan Wong, Bonnie Wong, Christopher Lau
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Introduction
We have created this black hole database as a means of keeping track of the numerous black holes that humanity has discovered over the past decade. The purpose of this database is to make various black hole statistics more digestible and easier to read. We try our best to update this whenever we have time.
Definitions Used in Our Blackhole Database
Name: This is the name (usually a string of numbers and letters) designated by the scientific community to the featured black hole. It can be found in various scientific papers and journals pertaining to astrophysics.
Alternate names: names less commonly used, or used more often by the general public.
Category: This indicates what type of black hole the featured black hole is. In general, the black holes will be categorized by mass:
Stellar Mass: Less than 10^2 solar masses.
Intermediate Mass: 10^2 - 10^5 solar masses.
Supermassive: 10^5 solar masses and beyond.
Then by more specific classes when applicable:
Quasar: Black hole with a jet of high-energy particles emitted in both directions perpendicular to a disc of accreting material.
Blazar: Quasar; oriented such that its jet of high-energy particles are aimed towards Earth. Observed as highly luminous black holes.
Microquasar: Quasar, but of stellar mass.
Distance from Earth: Exactly what it says on the tin. Expressed in light years, the distance light can travel in a year.
Galactic coordinates (in longitude and latitude): These function as a GPS for our galaxy, the Milky Way. Whereas the latitude indicates how high or low something is from the plane of the galaxy, the longitude highlights how far away something is from the galactic centre.
Contents
Our Black Hole Catalog Catagorized by Mass
Supermassive
Intermediate
Stellar
Formation and Fuel of Black Holes
Black holes originate from stars, particularly from the nuclear reactions (fusion reactions) in their cores. These reactions generate immense heat, crucial for the star's stability.
The Role of Mass
Mass is a critical factor in the formation and classification of black holes. The sun, for instance, contains over 99% of the mass in our solar system, highlighting the significance of mass in stellar objects.
The sun's core temperature reaches a fiery 16 million degrees Kelvin, a result of nuclear reactions similar to those in stars that become black holes.
Main Sequence and Material Depletion
During a star's main sequence, it steadily consumes the material in its core for nuclear reactions.
Once this material is depleted, the star can no longer sustain nuclear fusion, leading to its collapse and potential transformation into a black hole.
Finding Black Holes
Black holes are notoriously difficult to detect due to their absence of light.
However, their immense gravitational pull and the effects on surrounding matter can indicate their presence.
In April 2019, scientists finally took a picture of a black hole by using ground-based radio telescopes (shown above).
Types of Black Holes
As blackholes are overwhelmingly colossal, the sun is typically used in comparison as a unit (solar masses - M☉, where 'solar' means to be relative to the sun). The mass of the Sun is about 1.99 x 10^30 kilograms, equal to 332,380 times the mass of the Earth. 1 solar mass, unit M☉, is therefore 1.99 x 10^30 kilograms. Solar masses will be used predominantly as the unit of mass in this database as such. On the other hand, the diameter of the Sun is approximately 1.392 million km, which is 109 times the Earth's diameter.
It should be noted that whereas Stellar Mass and Supermassive Black Holes have been thoroughly researched, scientists are rather uncertain about Intermediate Mass Black Holes. Primordial and Kerr Black Holes furthermore only exist in the realms of theoretical physics at this moment and have yet to be observed in our universe.
Stellar Mass Black Hole
Formation: Stellar mass black holes form when massive stars end their life cycle.
Process: After consuming all their nuclear fuel, these stars undergo a supernova explosion.
Size Requirement: If the star is sufficiently large, the remaining core will collapse under its own gravity.
Result: This collapse leads to the formation of a stellar black hole.
Mass Range: These black holes typically have masses ranging from about five to several tens of solar masses.
Location: Stellar-Mass black holes are generally found in galaxies, but not at the center of them.
Supermassive Black Hole
Formation: Supermassive black holes are located at the centers of most, if not all, large galaxies.
Process: The exact mechanism of their formation is still a subject of research.
Size Requirement: These black holes have masses that are millions to billions of times that of our sun.
Result: They play a crucial role in the evolution of galaxies.
Mass Range: Known for their immense gravitational pull, they significantly influence the dynamics of their host galaxies.
Location: They are found in the center of galaxies.
Intermediate Mass Black Hole
Formation: Intermediate black holes are theorized to exist but are harder to detect.
Process: They could form when stars in a star cluster collide in a chain reaction.
Size Requirement: Their masses would range between those of stellar and supermassive black holes.
Result: Ongoing research aims to better understand and confirm the existence of intermediate black holes.
Mass Range: Intermediate in size, filling the gap between stellar and supermassive black holes.
Location: Found around galaxies
Primordial Black Hole
NOTE: The existence of primordial black holes has not been confirmed yet.
Formation: Primordial black holes are hypothetical and thought to have formed soon after the Big Bang.
Process: Their formation is attributed to high densities and irregularities in the very early universe.
Size Requirement: They could range in size from very small to large, but it is currently unknown.
Mass Range: Their potential size varies widely, from extremely small to large.
Kerr Black hole
NOTE: Their existence is also hypothetical.
Formation: Kerr black holes are a theoretical type of black hole characterized by rotation and thus has its own angular momentum.
Process: Their rotation leads to a ring-like singularity, differing from the point-like singularity in non-rotating black holes.
Size Requirement: Not specified, as the defining characteristic is rotation.
Result: The rotation of Kerr black holes potentially allows for different physics at the event horizon compared to non-rotating black holes.
Mass Range: The mass of Kerr black holes can vary, with the focus being on their unique rotational properties.
Theoretical Black Holes Catalog
Primordial
No black holes have been catagorized primordial yet as of right now.
This section will be updated when any black holes are observed and judged to be of primordial class at reasonable uncertainty
Kerr
No black holes have been categorized Kerr as of right now
This section will be updated when any black holes are observed and judged to be of Kerr class at reasonable uncertainty.
Further reading:
https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/sun/sun_index.html
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sun-compare/en/
https://universe.nasa.gov/black-holes/types/
https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/stars1.html
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-theoretical-kerr-black-holes-amplify.html
https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/active_galaxies1.html
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