Centuries before Stephen Hawking, an isolated priest imagined black holes

In this excerpt from “Facing Infinity,” Jonas Enander examines how John Michell conceived of “dark stars,” or massive bodies with enough gravity to trap light, all the way back in 1783.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the 18th century, John Michell theorized the existence of “dark stars” — a concept that foreshadowed black holes.

• Michell’s work showed how gravity could set a boundary on human knowledge, limiting what could be observed in the cosmos.

• More than two centuries later, modern astrophysicists proved Michell’s speculations correct by using his then-theoretical method to identify the black hole at the center of our galaxy.