The search for hidden black holes depends on your help

The black hole is one of the most mind-bending objects in the universe. Anything passing their event horizon, even light, will not be able to escape. It's because of this that they get their name, as black holes can't be seen.

Researchers find that many black holes have material around them, such as dust and gas, and when these materials fall into a black hole, they give off X-ray bursts that allow them to locate the black hole.

The situation isn't the same for every black hole. There are some that do not take in material, so they do not emit X-rays and are much harder to locate. As part of a citizen science project, the public is invited to help search for these 'hidden' black holes.

Using a project called Black Hole Hunters, scientists attempt to locate black holes by searching for clues left behind by their enormous gravity.

Despite their density, black holes have very strong gravity, which warps spacetime. As a result, the light coming from behind them is bent and brightened for a short time.

In graph data, citizen scientists are invited to search for these peaks of brightness from stars. There is a brief tutorial explaining what you should look .

In a graph, and then you are asked to help classify graphs that may indicate the presence of a black hole. It is based on 10 years of measurements from the SuperWASP survey, an exoplanet detection project.

In the future, Black Hole Hunters could help astronomers identify more important black holes to study. Adam McMaster, one of the project co-leads, said, 'I can't wait to find out what we find. There should definitely be black holes out there, but none have

Yet to be found. According to him, 'In the long run, our search should help us understand how black holes form by helping us figure out how many are orbiting stars quietly,' he said.

It's a huge task and we can't do it alone, so it's great that anyone with access to the Internet can help, regardless of their knowledge of astronomy.”