What type of black hole usually forms when a massive star’s core collapses?

A stellar-mass black hole usually forms when a massive star’s core collapses.

When a sufficiently massive star exhausts the nuclear fuel supporting its core, gravity can overwhelm pressure. The core collapses, while the outer layers may be expelled in a supernova or through other violent mass loss. If the remaining core is massive enough, it can become a black hole rather than a neutron star.

The resulting object typically has a mass of several to dozens of Suns. Its exact mass depends on the star’s initial mass, chemical composition, winds, rotation, and the details of the collapse. Some massive stars may collapse directly with little visible supernova.

Stellar-mass black holes differ from supermassive black holes, which occupy galactic centers and contain millions or billions of solar masses. Astronomers also discuss intermediate-mass and hypothetical primordial black holes, but those have different proposed origins.