	Into the Depths of A Black Hole   	Everyday we look out upon the night sky, wondering and dreaming of  what lies beyond our planet.  The universe that we live in is so diverse  and unique, and it interests us to learn about all the variance that  lies beyond our grasp.  Within this marvel of wonders our universe holds  a mystery that is very difficult to understand because of the complications  that arise when trying to examine and explore the principles of space.  That mystery happens to be that of the ever clandestine, black hole.  	This essay will hopefully give you the knowledge and understanding  of the concepts, properties, and processes involved with the space  phenomenon of the black hole.  It will describe how a black hole is   generally formed, how it functions, and the effects it has on the universe.   	In order to understand what exactly a black hole is, we must first  take a look at the basis for the cause of a black hole.  All black holes  are formed from the gravitational collapse of a star, usually having a   great, massive, core.  A star is created when huge, gigantic, gas clouds  bind together due to attractive forces and form a hot core, combined from  all the energy of the two gas clouds.  This energy produced is so great   when it first collides, that a nuclear reaction occurs and the gases within  the star start to burn continuously.  The Hydrogen gas is usually the first  type of gas consumed in a star and then other gas elements such as Carbon,  Oxygen, and Helium are consumed.         	This chain reaction fuels the star for millions or billions of  years depending upon the amount of gases there are.         	The star manages to avoid collapsing at this point because of the  equilibrium achieved by itself.  The gravitational pull from the core of   the star is equal to the gravitational pull of the gases forming a type of  orbit, however when this equality is broken the star can go into several   different stages.  	Usually if the star is small in mass, most of the gases will be   consumed while some of it escapes.  This occurs because there is not a   tremendous gravitational pull upon those gases and therefore the star   weakens and becomes smaller.  It is then referred to as a White Dwarf.  If the star was to have a larger mass however, then it may possibly   Supernova, meaning that the nuclear fusion within the star simply goes  out of control causing the star to explode.  After exploding a fraction  of the star is usually left (if it has not turned into pure gas) and that  fraction of the star is known as a neutron star.    	A black hole is one of the last option that a star may take.  If  the core of the star is so massive (approximately 6-8 solar masses;  one solar mass being equal to the sun's mass) then it is most likely that  when the star's gases are almost consumed those gases will collapse inward,  forced into the core by the gravitational force laid upon them.  	After a black hole is created, the gravitational force continues  to pull in space debris and other type of matters to help add to the  mass of the core, making the hole stronger and more powerful.  	Most black holes tend to be in a consistent spinning motion.         This motion absorbs various matter and spins it within the ring (known as   the Event Horizon) that is formed around the black hole.  The matter keeps  within the Event Horizon until it has spun into the centre where it is   concentrated within the core adding to the mass.  Such spinning black holes  are known as Kerr Black Holes.  	Most black holes orbit around stars due to the fact that they once   were a star, and this may cause some problems for the neighbouring stars.  If a black hole gets powerful enough it may actually pull a star into it  and disrupt the orbit of many other stars.  The black hole could then  grow even stronger (from the star's mass) as to possibly absorb another.  	When a black hole absorbs a star, the star is first pulled into the  Ergosphere, which sweeps all the matter into the Event Horizon, named for   it's flat horizontal appearance and because this happens to be the place   where mostly all the action within the black hole occurs.  When the star is  passed on into the Event Horizon the light that the star endures is bent   within the current and therefore cannot be seen in space.  At this exact   point in time, high amounts of radiation are given off, that with the   proper equipment can be detected and seen as an image of a black hole.    Through this technique astronomers now believe that they have found a black  hole known as Cygnus X1.  This supposed black hole has a huge star orbiting  around it, therefore we assume there must be a black hole that it is in   orbit with.   	The first scientists to really take an in depth look at black holes  and the collapsing of stars, were a professor, Robert Oppenheimer and his         student Hartland Snyder, in the early nineteen hundreds.  They concluded  on the basis of Einstein's theory of relativity that if the speed of light  was the utmost speed over any massive object, then nothing could escape  a black hole once in it's clutches. **(1)  	The name "black hole" was named such, because of the fact that light   could not escape from the gravitational pull from the core, thus making the  black hole impossible for humans to see without using technological   advancements for measuring such things like radiation.  The second part of  the word was named "hole" due to the fact that the actual hole, is where   everything is absorbed and where the centre core presides.  This core is   the main part of the black hole where the mass is concentrated and appears  purely black on all readings even through the use of radiation   detection devices.   	 	Just recently a major discovery was found with the help of a device  known as The Hubble Telescope.  This telescope has just recently found  what many astronomers believe to be a black hole, after being focused on  an star orbiting empty space.  Several picture were sent back  to Earth from the telescope showing many computer enhanced pictures of   various radiation fluctuations and other diverse types of readings that  could be read from the area in which the black hole is suspected to be in.  	Several diagrams were made showing how astronomers believe that  if somehow you were to survive through the centre of the black hole that  there would be enough gravitational force to possible warp you to another   end in the universe or possibly to another universe.  The creative ideas  that can be hypothesized from this discovery are endless.  	     	Although our universe is filled with much unexplained, glorious,   phenomenons, it is our duty to continue exploring them and to continue  learning, but in the process we must not take any of it for granted.  	As you have read, black holes are a major topic within our universe  and they contain so much curiosity that they could possibly hold   unlimited uses.  Black holes are a sensation that astronomers are  still very puzzled with.  It seems that as we get closer to solving  their existence and functions, we just end up with more and more questions.  	Although these questions just lead us into more and more unanswered  problems we seek and find refuge into them, dreaming that maybe one day,  one far off distant day, we will understand all the conceptions and we  will be able to use the universe to our advantage and go where only  our dreams could take us.                                            Dave May  343 								1992/12/04                         	References For Into The Depths of a Black Hole   **(1):  Parker, Barry.  Colliding Galaxies.  PG#96             