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What Do Black Holes Eat for Dinner?
Space facts from an astrophysicist, brought down to earth by a middle school teacher—these are answers to kids' real, wacky, smart questions. Light, space, stars, galaxies, planets, and more, all explained with accuracy and humor, and accompanied by images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
80 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2020
About the author
Katie Coppens
11 books8 followersKatie Coppens is a middle school English and science teacher. She writes fiction and nonfiction books that integrate science. Katie can be reached at contactkatiecoppens@gmail.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 7, 2020
A really fun book for middle-grade readers written as a conversation between the author and a kid with lots of questions. The text is very conversational, with the narrator often interrupting themself to share a wild fact or reassure the reader that really, honestly, a black hole eating up Earth is not something they need to worry about. It's excellently illustrated with beautiful space photos that are -- wonder of wonders -- both captioned in detail and credited properly. If your middle-grade kid has lots of questions about black holes or dark matter or diamond rain or colliding galaxies or what happens if you pee in space (the pee first boils and then freezes into little pee snowflakes), this is the book for you!
October 21, 2021
This book is more technical and detailed than I expected, which I love!
I enjoy the format and the tone as well.
I had so much fun reading this book! The balance of information and humor was delicate but well-handled. There were some things I didn't fully comprehend even as a reasonably-intelligent 29-year-old, but I love the idea of a kid picking this up and possibly going on to be an actual astrophysicist!
5th star in my rating just because I love the fact that this exists.
My Questions & Notes:
Q: Can a star eat a black hole?
A: The black hole will travel to the center of the star and absorb it from the inside out.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/a...
https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q...
Q: Does the size of a black hole increase by the mass of what it absorbs?
A: Yes, the event horizon (trapping zone) increases as more matter is absorbed.
https://www.uu.edu/dept/physics/scien...
Q: When galaxies "pass through one another" (pg 15), do they retain their original components, or are pieces mixed and matched? When do they pass through instead of merging? (Or is this a phrasing issue, so they always do merge rather than pass, just without body collisions?)
A: If I'm understanding correctly, galaxies collide and merge. The stars and bodies within galaxies do not usually collide during these mergers.
I just found out it quite possibly rains diamonds inside gas giants, so that's cool.
Um, also "We believe that, in solar systems beyond our own, there are entire planets that are mostly diamond."
Things that make perfect sense considering the amount and role of carbon in the universe, but that you just don't often have reason to think about.
I'm relieved to know that you can't float off of the moon even if you try, unless you're able to move 1.4 miles/second (pg 39). Floating into space is scary! But,
Q: How high can you jump on the moon?
A: 9 feet
Still pretty scary. And,
Q: How long does it take to get back down?
A: About 4 seconds.
Whew, okay, I can handle that. I think.
https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-h...
Page 44 is where we finally get a brief run-down of what would happen to a human in space without a space suit (ruptured lungs and boiling tissues, yikes).
Page 45: In space, your pee would boil and then freeze.
I would be interested to read/watch some science fiction worldbuilding on a planet/moon with a chaotic rotation period. (Like Hyperion, one of Saturn's moons. - pg 55)
Hah, it was a female astronomer that gave us the equation allowing us to calculate how far away stars are based on their brightness.
Page 62: A black hole at the center of the Perseus cluster of galaxies gives off a musical note traveling through the plasma surrounding the cluster. It is "the lowest known musical note in the Universe--a B-flat 57 octaves below Middle C!"
"Dark matter's color is 'gravity.' Yeah, I know that's not a real color, but bear with me. If 'gravity' were a color, it'd be the most beautiful color you've ever seen. Gravity choreographs the ballet of the cosmos. It's the sculptor of the expanse. The dictator of fates. The origin of structure. ... Gravity is potentially one of the most important consequences of the laws of nature. So, yeah. It's not a color. But it's basically everything else." - pg 67
Page 68: Wait... You're telling me we could never travel at light speed (because we'd get too massive/heavy as our speed increased)? Much less warp speed? Star Trek lied to me?!
Page 72: Yesss - the further away something is, the further in the past you're seeing it from. Because it takes time for light to travel.
I enjoy the format and the tone as well.
I had so much fun reading this book! The balance of information and humor was delicate but well-handled. There were some things I didn't fully comprehend even as a reasonably-intelligent 29-year-old, but I love the idea of a kid picking this up and possibly going on to be an actual astrophysicist!
5th star in my rating just because I love the fact that this exists.
My Questions & Notes:
Q: Can a star eat a black hole?
A: The black hole will travel to the center of the star and absorb it from the inside out.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/a...
https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q...
Q: Does the size of a black hole increase by the mass of what it absorbs?
A: Yes, the event horizon (trapping zone) increases as more matter is absorbed.
https://www.uu.edu/dept/physics/scien...
Q: When galaxies "pass through one another" (pg 15), do they retain their original components, or are pieces mixed and matched? When do they pass through instead of merging? (Or is this a phrasing issue, so they always do merge rather than pass, just without body collisions?)
A: If I'm understanding correctly, galaxies collide and merge. The stars and bodies within galaxies do not usually collide during these mergers.
I just found out it quite possibly rains diamonds inside gas giants, so that's cool.
Um, also "We believe that, in solar systems beyond our own, there are entire planets that are mostly diamond."
Things that make perfect sense considering the amount and role of carbon in the universe, but that you just don't often have reason to think about.
I'm relieved to know that you can't float off of the moon even if you try, unless you're able to move 1.4 miles/second (pg 39). Floating into space is scary! But,
Q: How high can you jump on the moon?
A: 9 feet
Still pretty scary. And,
Q: How long does it take to get back down?
A: About 4 seconds.
Whew, okay, I can handle that. I think.
https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-h...
Page 44 is where we finally get a brief run-down of what would happen to a human in space without a space suit (ruptured lungs and boiling tissues, yikes).
Page 45: In space, your pee would boil and then freeze.
I would be interested to read/watch some science fiction worldbuilding on a planet/moon with a chaotic rotation period. (Like Hyperion, one of Saturn's moons. - pg 55)
Hah, it was a female astronomer that gave us the equation allowing us to calculate how far away stars are based on their brightness.
Page 62: A black hole at the center of the Perseus cluster of galaxies gives off a musical note traveling through the plasma surrounding the cluster. It is "the lowest known musical note in the Universe--a B-flat 57 octaves below Middle C!"
"Dark matter's color is 'gravity.' Yeah, I know that's not a real color, but bear with me. If 'gravity' were a color, it'd be the most beautiful color you've ever seen. Gravity choreographs the ballet of the cosmos. It's the sculptor of the expanse. The dictator of fates. The origin of structure. ... Gravity is potentially one of the most important consequences of the laws of nature. So, yeah. It's not a color. But it's basically everything else." - pg 67
Page 68: Wait... You're telling me we could never travel at light speed (because we'd get too massive/heavy as our speed increased)? Much less warp speed? Star Trek lied to me?!
Page 72: Yesss - the further away something is, the further in the past you're seeing it from. Because it takes time for light to travel.
June 26, 2020
Releases 7/1/2020, I read an advanced reader copy from the wonderful Tumblehome Books. I am assuming the book is geared towards middle school aged kids. Well written and illustrated. I learned a lot about black holes and planets/galaxies/space in general. Do you remember the first Jurassic Park movie? The one with the amusement park ride that talked about the universe forming and dinosaurs? It was narrated by Sir Richard Attenborough. Yeah? Well, this book has that feel to it; well explained in simpler terms but you don’t feel talked down to. The illustrations are great and I, frankly, couldn’t tell the difference between actual photos from the Hubble Space Telescope and the artists’ renderings.
June 22, 2020
What do black holes eat for dinner is a fun educational novel written in a question and answer format that will help spark your older child's interest. The questions asked and answered throughout the story, "What would happen to my pee in space? Can astronauts burp in space? "I heard it can rain in space. Is that true?" will help spark your child's interest and entice them to read more. The questions are highlighted in blue, with key facts and definitions highlighted in yellow. This easy to follow format will help teachers create reading comprehension questions for their students.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews