(IMAGE)
Caption
Stars like our Sun (left) may be thought of as a dense ball of gas powered by nuclear fusion. Black holes (center) typically grow by consuming matter via pancake-like accretion disks. Black Hole Stars (right) represent a new kind of astrophysical object — black holes enshrouded in dense gas such that they effectively radiate in a star-like manner. The dense envelope of gas gives the black hole its star-like features. Black Hole Stars are >100,000 times larger than the Sun (~1000 au vs. ~0.01 au), but span a size similar to black hole accretion disks.
Credit
Illustration: Rohan Naidu (University of Hawai'i)
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