{"product_id":"a-black-hole-is-not-a-hole-isbn-9781570917844","title":"A Black Hole Is Not a Hole","description":"Budding astronomers and scientists will love this humorous introduction to the extremely complex concept of black holes. With space facts and answers about the galaxies (ours, and others)\u003ci\u003e A\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBlack Hole is NOT a Hole\u003c\/i\u003e takes readers on a ride that will stretch their minds around the phenomenon known as a black hole.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In lively and text, the book starts off with a thorough explanation of gravity and the role it plays in the formation of black holes. Paintings by Michael Carroll, coupled with real telescopic images, help readers visualize the facts and ideas presented in the text, such as how light bends, and what a supernova looks like.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Back matter includes a timeline which sums up important findings discussed throughout, while the glossary and index provide a quick point of reference for readers. Children and adults alike will learn a ton of spacey facts in this far-out book that’s sure to excite even the youngest of astrophiles.Oh, my stars! As the cover proclaims, a black hole may not be an actual hole, but readers will be glad they fell into this book. The volume guides readers on a (literally) out-of-this-world tour, dealing with topics and concepts that, in the hands of a less-gifted writer, might have remained obscure and unclear. DeCristofano handles the material with wit, style and singularly admirable clarity, frequently employing easy-to-understand and, yes, down-to-earth ideas and scenarios to help make complex principles comprehensible to readers of all ages. Carroll's illustrations, diagrams and charts, along with superb telescopic photographs (many courtesy of NASA) are splendid and filled with the drama and excitement of the limitless vastness of space. The handsome design and visuals greatly enhance the text and add much to readers' grasp of the subject. Stargazers will be entranced, and even those not especially attuned to matters celestial will come away feeling smarter, awestruck and with a sense of finally understanding this fascinating, other-worldly phenomenon. An excellent resource.\u003cbr\u003eHole-y astronomy!\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting with rare verve (\"A black hole is nothing to look at. Literally.\"), DeCristofano condenses recent astronomical discoveries into a high energy account of what we know or guess about one of the universe's deepest and most unobservable secrets. Covering the life cycle of stars; the formation of black holes and weird optical and physical effects associated with them; more recent revelations of super-sized black holes at the centers of galaxies; and the general effects of mass on space, light, and matter, she presents a clear, well-rounded picture of the strange structure and stranger physics of black holes. After leading a wild ride over a black hole's event horizon (\"Right away, you would need a new nickname--something like Stretch . . . .\") and explaining theories about gravity from Newton's notions to \"Einstein's Spacey Ideas,\" DeCristofano leaves readers to ponder the truth of her claim that a black hole isn't a hole--but \"NOT exactly NOT a hole either.\" Enhanced by a time line and a generous set of further resources--and illustrated with plenty of cogent diagrams, space photographs, and Carroll's dramatic images of stellar whirlpools and mammoth jets of gas around cores of impenetrable blackness--this book will snatch readers from their orbits and fling them into a lasting fascination with nature's most attractive phenomena. Literally.\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cb\u003eCarolyn Cinami DeCristofano\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eLeonardo's ABC's\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as the acclaimed nonfiction middle grade read, \u003ci\u003eA Black Hole Is Not a Hole. \u003c\/i\u003eAside from writing for children, Carolyn is also science educator and principal consultant with Blue Heron STEM Education. She has developed science programs with NASA and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Carolyn lives in Boston, Massachusetts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInternationally known artist \u003cb\u003eMichael W. Carroll \u003c\/b\u003ehas been painting astronomical subjects for over 20 years. His art has appeared in several hundred magazines throughout the world, including \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNational Geographic\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eAstronomy\u003c\/i\u003e. His paintings have aired on NOVA, COSMOS, and various TV specials, and have embellished albums and numerous books. Michael lives at the foot of the Rockies in Littleton, Colorado.\u003cb\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHave you heard the news?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn outer space, mysterious entities called black holes seem up to no good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the headlines, you’d think black holes were beasts with endless appetites, lying in wait for the next meal. By some reports they are “runaway,” out-of-control “predators” that “feed” on galaxies, only to “belch” and “spit out” what they don’t eat. They “lurk” in the shadows, “mangling” stars and “gobbling” them up. In short, they have a nasty reputation for being monsters “gone mad.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut you know what?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA black hole isn’t a monster. It’s not even alive. That means it can’t lurk, eat, or belch. It has no dark, de-structive desires.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf course, you may have already figured this out. But you know what else?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA black hole is NOT a hole—at least not the kind you can dig in the groundor poke your finger through. You can’t just walk along and fall into one.A black hole isn’t a hole like that.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf a black hole is not a hole, then what in the universe is it?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. Places with Pull\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA black hole is a place in space with a powerful pull.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWay out beyond where you are right now, beyond the clouds, beyond the Moon, beyond Pluto, beyond our solar system, space goes on and on. You could travel for trillions of miles and you’d barely get to the closest star. In another few trillion miles you might pass an-other star. Space is that huge.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWay out there, trillions, quadrillions, and even more -illions of miles away, are special places called black holes. These places in space are special because of their powerful pull on other things. A black hole’s pull is the strongest pull in the entire universe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNothing can out-tug a black hole. No army of tow trucks, no convoy of supersized earth haulers, no fleet of giant rocket engines. Not all of them combined.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA black hole pulls in nearby dust. It pulls in nearby asteroids. It pulls in nearby stars and even nearby starlight. And no light, stars, asteroids, or dust comes out. Not ever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow Far Out Is Way Out There?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlack holes are way out beyond where you are right now—much farther away than the edge of our solar system. To talk about the distance to a black hole, you’d need a huge number. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow huge? Well, in your everyday life, you probably travel only a few miles (or kilometers). At most, you might go tens of miles. Longer trips might be in the hundreds or even thousands of miles. In outer space, these distances would seem smaller than baby steps. Out there, you’d need to stock up on zeroes to describe how far it is from one place to another.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom Earth to the Sun: millions of miles or kilometers\u003cbr\u003eFrom the Sun to the next closest star: tens of trillions of miles or kilometers\u003cbr\u003eFrom Earth to the nearest black hole: tens of quadrillions of miles or kilometers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDistance across our galaxy (Milky Way): hundreds of quadrillions of miles or kilometers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDistance across the observable universe (which may be much smaller than the whole universe): sextillions of miles or kilometers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the universe, enormous distances separate even“close” neighbors. The Sun and Pluto, for instance, are a staggering 3,647,240,000 miles (5,869,660,000 kilometers) apart—yet that’s just a hop, skip, and jump, astronomically speaking!(Sizes and distances in this diagram are not to scale.)","brand":"Charlesbridge","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301215129829,"sku":"NP9781570917844","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781570917844.jpg?v=1767720305","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/a-black-hole-is-not-a-hole-isbn-9781570917844","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}