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Why Vantablack can look like a black hole
Vantablack is a family of engineered dark coatings. The original coating described by ABC Science uses vertically aligned carbon nanotubes: light enters the dense nanotube structure and is absorbed rather than bouncing back toward the viewer. With so little reflected light to reveal surface features, a three-dimensional object can appear unusually flat or void-like. The “black hole” comparison describes that visual impression; Vantablack is a coating, not a black hole.
ABC Science reported in 2017 that Surrey NanoSystems described the original coating as absorbing 99.96 per cent of incident light. That is a reported figure for the coating discussed in that article, not a universal specification for every Vantablack version or measurement condition. The same report described a nanotube density of about a billion per square centimetre; that, too, should not be treated as a specification for every product variant. ABC Science’s 2017 report explains the structure and its early applications.
Does Vantablack make aircraft stealthy?
Not on the evidence available here. A black appearance to human eyes does not establish that an aircraft is difficult to detect by radar or other sensing systems. Those are different questions, and the reviewed reporting does not show that Vantablack was deployed on stealth aircraft.
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In ABC Science’s 2017 report, Surrey NanoSystems chief technical officer Ben Jensen said the company’s applications at that time did not involve painting stealth jets black. That statement describes the company’s applications as reported in 2017; it should not be mistaken for a claim about every later development. The evidence here nevertheless does not support presenting aircraft use as confirmed.
Where absorbing stray light can help
Optical instruments can be affected by unwanted light reflected inside their housings. A highly light-absorbing coating on protected interior surfaces can reduce that stray light, helping keep it from contaminating a measurement or image. The coating’s reported delicacy also matters: ABC Science said contact can damage its effect, which makes protected instrument interiors more plausible than exposed aircraft surfaces or everyday objects.
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| Application | What the reporting supports | Evidence status |
|---|---|---|
| Space instruments and star trackers | ABC Science reported use of a coating in a satellite star tracker to absorb stray light. | Reported use in a 2017 article; not a claim that every such instrument uses it. |
| Infrared imaging | ABC Science reported that an infrared-instrumentation manufacturer acquired the coating, with expected signal-to-noise benefits. | Reported development or application context; no quantified improvement was given. |
| Telescope coronagraphs | NASA optics engineer John Hagopian discussed potential and work toward implementation. | Development prospect in the 2017 report, not evidence of broad deployment. |
| Satellites and astronomy | A 2026 BBC Sky at Night Magazine account of a University of Surrey study described measurements and simulations for Vantablack 310. | Study and simulation as reported by a secondary source; no confirmed in-orbit performance is established. |
| Stealth aircraft | Jensen told ABC Science in 2017 that the company’s applications did not involve painting stealth jets black. | No aircraft deployment is established by the reviewed reporting. |
What the satellite-brightness study suggests
Vantablack 310 is a separate, newer line of work from the original coating discussed above. BBC Sky at Night Magazine reported in September 2026 that a University of Surrey study measured it as reflecting around 2 per cent of incoming light. The magazine also reported simulations estimating that a satellite using the coating could have an apparent brightness around magnitude +7.0. Both figures belong to the reported study: the brightness is a modeled estimate, not an observation of a satellite coated and tested in orbit. The underlying paper is not established by the reporting cited here, so the reflectivity figure should be read as a reported result rather than a definitive product specification. BBC Sky at Night Magazine’s account describes the study and its simulations.
Reducing a satellite’s apparent brightness could make it less intrusive in astronomical observations, but a simulation is not proof of how a finished spacecraft would perform under real operating conditions. The reported work points to material choice as a possible way to reduce satellite visibility; it does not establish that satellites are already being coated this way or that the issue has been solved.
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Why the coating is not a simple all-purpose black paint
The nanotube structure that absorbs light is also delicate. ABC Science reported that contact can damage the effect. That practical limitation helps explain why reported uses center on protected instrument interiors rather than exposed surfaces that must tolerate handling or ordinary wear. A coating that looks exceptionally black is not automatically suitable for every surface or purpose.
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