12.19.2012 - By Foothill College
While black holes are popularly associated with death and doom, astrophysicists increasingly see them as creators, not destroyers -- playing a major role in the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars, and planets. Dr. Roger Blandford of the Kavli Institute at Stanford University (whose research interests include black holes, galaxies, and cosmology) summarizes why scientists now think that black holes of various sizes actually do exist, describes some of their strange properties, and explains their "environmental impact" on the universe at large. Recorded November 14, 2012