This is CBSI on the world. I'm John Batchel. I welcome Dr. Ken Croswell, an astronomer, and my guide on the cosmos.

We begin, however, with a story of what is a black hole, because we're in pursuit of a black hole that's got a special characteristic.

Ken, a very good evening to you.

You published in science news that there is news of a black hole in our region, 5,000 light years away,

and you link to a story in Astrophysical Journal.

I need some definitions first.

What is a black hole?

What does it mean to us?

Why do we care about them so much we watch for them? Good evening to you. Good evening, John. A black hole is a

massive star that has collapsed and died and is so dense that its gravity doesn't allow anything to leave it, not even light the fastest thing in the

universe.

So these are very extreme objects, and one reason we like to study them is because they are

so extreme.

So they test the laws of physics at the limit.

And also, this is one of the fates of stars, some stars, very few stars.

Most stars do not become black holes. Most stars become something else when they die. But these black holes are of great

interest. And also in the explosion of material that may precede the birth of the black hole, there can be new

elements, new chemical elements generated, such as things like gold and platinum.

And so these objects help us learn more about the chemical evolution of the Milky Way galaxy.

One particular black hole is of interest in Ken's article.

I read the title from Astrophysical Journal.

An isolated stellar mass black hole confirmed using new Hubble Space Telescope astrometry and updated photometry.

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