What Causes a ‘Black Hole’ and How Is It Different from a ‘Star’?

A black hole starts as a star that runs out of fuel and collapses in on itself. If it's big enough, it becomes so dense that not even light can escape, that’s why we call it a black hole. A star, on the other hand, shines because it burns fuel inside it. When the star dies, it might become a black hole or something else entirely. Think of it like a giant ball that suddenly gets squished into a tiny dot.

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Examples

A black hole is like a giant ball of candy that gets squished into a tiny dot and swallows everything around it.
Stars are like fireflies that keep glowing until they run out of fuel, then they go out or become something else.
If you had a star the size of your house, and it collapsed into a black hole, it would be so dense it could swallow Earth in one bite.

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Categories: Space · black hole,star,gravity