Black Hole Apocalypse

Black holes are invisible but powerful engines of destruction, containing nothing but infinite gravity and density—a "region of no return” capable of slowing and bending time, while "eating" stars and anything else in its path. If a human being were sucked into a black hole, the body would become as elongated and thin as a spaghetti strand, before vaporizing into particles. Hosted by Janna Levin, this PBS-aired NOVA documentary directed by Rushmore DeNooyer studies the mystery of black holes, which were believed by Albert Einstein and other early physicists to be a mathematical possibility, although not necessarily a reality. Named after the Black Hole of Calcutta (a prison dungeon in India), black holes have only been verified in recent decades, with new knowledge gradually being added. In 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories (LIGO) in Washington state and Louisiana detected evidence—sounding like a gentle chirp—emanating from a gravitational wave created by the collision of two black holes over a billion years ago. "Supermassive" black holes are at the center of many galaxies, and scientists now believe they are a basic building block in the structure of the universe. The documentary combines outstanding graphics, informative facts and figures, and insights from experts such as Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, among others (including many women scientists). Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)