Can someone who really knows this stuff clarify my understanding?
I've been given to understand that black holes remain a physics theory that has not been directly observed or proven.
I thought that we had a fair amount of observational evidence that suggests their existence, but no "smoking gun" proof of it, and that these types of "observed a black hole" articles are a little misleading - that in reality, what was observed was much indirect, interpreted data that is consistent with black hole theory, but could also be something else.
I've been given to understand that black holes remain a physics theory that has not been directly observed or proven.
I thought that we had a fair amount of observational evidence that suggests their existence, but no "smoking gun" proof of it, and that these types of "observed a black hole" articles are a little misleading - that in reality, what was observed was much indirect, interpreted data that is consistent with black hole theory, but could also be something else.
Am I off base here?