Q&A: Black Holes
Q:
In regard to the recent
black hole flare, something occurred to me. If light cannot
escape the black hole, what happens to it? Is it bright
somewhere within? Or are the photons destroyed or changed?
A:
You are correct in your assumption that light cannot escape from
a black hole. This is why the recent report on the flare from
the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy
emphasize that the flare was from the vicinity of a black hole.
The event horizon of this black hole has a radius of about 10
million kilometers, and the flare is thought to have occurred at
a distance of about about 100 million kilometers.
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