Planets become black holes? (Earth, Sun)

[Hazel W]

Can planets become black holes? Or, is Michael Finkel just using planets as an example of what Earth's shrinkage would become IF? Thanks

[harry chickpea]

In a word, no. The mass required would have first turned it into a sun.

[Hazel W]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

In a word, no. The mass required would have first turned it into a sun.

Thanks. I had a feeling he was just speaking hypothetically. Just an IF. His purpose was to demonstrate size after a sphere shrinks. He started with the sun and then make the picture more clear by saying "if Earth.....". Understood.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by Hazel W

Can planets become black holes? Or, is Michael Finkel just using planets as an example of what Earth's shrinkage would become IF? Thanks

In order for a black hole to form today, naturally, it must have a mass between ~10 and ~130 of our suns.

If one could compress the Earth into a black hole it would have the diameter of about 17.74mm (0.7 inches).