naure.com
ScienceSurprise 5/5Difficulty 3/5Reviewed on September 18, 2026

If the Earth were compressed to become a black hole, it would be the size of a golf ball.

Why it is true

For an object to become a black hole, its mass must be compressed within the so-called Schwarzschild radius. In the case of Earth, that radius would be about 9 millimetres, resulting in a sphere roughly the size of a golf ball.

Source: NASA

Would you rather be asked first?

This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.

Test yourself →10-question challenge

Related facts

More in Science

See all →