Black hole explained to kids

A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying. After a star dies, it can leave behind a supernova. A supernova is the largest explosion that takes place in space. Once a star has been compressed into a black hole, it becomes invisible. There are three types of black holes: stellar, intermediate, and supermassive. Stellar black holes are the most common. They are about the same size as our sun. Intermediate black holes are a million to a billion times the mass of our sun. Supermassive black holes are a million to a billion times the mass of our sun. Scientists can only see black holes indirectly. They look for things that might be happening near a black hole. For example, they might look for a star that is orbiting a black hole. Or they might look for a jet of gas that is being pulled into a black hole. Some black holes are so big that they can contain a whole solar system. And some black holes might even be connected to other black holes through wormholes.