Abstract
Abstract The concept of black holes or completely collapsed gravitational objects as they were originally called has fascinated the scientific community and writers of science fiction for centuries. The mathematical proof of the existence of black holes came from the collation of multiple lines of evidence, some of which were highly debated and was derived from both indirect and direct sources. The measurement of gravitational waves and the observation of a black hole represent one of the most astounding achievements in astrophysics which will open up new areas of investigation for the role that black holes play in the formation, maintenance and evolution of galactic structure.
Highlights
Why should black holes exist and how do we know that they do? This article summarises some major developments over the last 236 years, which describe the theory and fact which shows that they do exist, celebrated by the ground-breaking publication of the first image of a black hole. 2
In 1784, John Michell first suggested that objects could have such a high mass that light is unable to escape their gravitational field [1]
The fate of stars when they run out of fuel depends upon their size and may produce either a white dwarf, a neutron star, or a black hole, with each object having increasing density
Summary
Why should black holes exist and how do we know that they do? This article summarises some major developments over the last 236 years, which describe the theory and fact which shows that they do exist, celebrated by the ground-breaking publication of the first image of a black hole.
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