How do scientists find black holes?

Answer 1

by the x-rays they give out and the elliptical path of the stars circling around pure darkness.
There are a few ways. Since stars are so far, you can't observe the black hole directly, but you can observe the effects that the intense gravity from the black hole creates. For instance, a star with a black hole as its twin will behave as a star in a binary system, but you can't see the twin. So, you can assume that there is an invisible object nearby influencing the orbit of the twin.

Other ways are observing in different wavelengths - radio, infrared, ultraviolet and X-rays. If a black hole is consuming matter, it will often be active in these other wavelengths.

As black holes consume matter, they often throw out jets of highly accelerated matter and energy. These jets can be observed.

Thus, by combining the methods above (and others), you can determine where a black hole is.

Answer 2

If black holes DID exist, we would see three things occuring near them:

1) large amounts of matter being sucked into a central core, emitting large amounts of radiation, including x-rays, as it does so.

2) stars would be in orbit around this core, with orbits that can only be explained by a large amount of mass in a very small volume.

3) light from behind a black hole would be bent to the extent that objects behind it would appear to be in a gravitational lens.

Astronomers see exactly those events in several spots in our galaxy, and the only reasonable explanation is a black hole.

Answer 3

It's by inference.

1) the math says that black holes should exist.

2) nobody has figured out what else could make stars follow the orbits that they take near the center of the galaxy -except- for a black hole.

Answer 4

Scientists find black holes by observing the behavior of matter and light in regions where a large concentration of mass is present but no visible object is seen. They use specialized telescopes and instruments to detect X-rays, gravitational waves, and other emissions from black hole interactions with nearby matter. Mathematical models and simulations also help in predicting the presence and characteristics of black holes.

Answer 5

They find it through its gravitational effects on what is around it. Also, it warps and distorts light that passes by it.