How to get black hole badges on Khan Academy


7 Dec 2011

The Black Hole badges on Khan Academy are legendary and unknown, so a lot of people want to know how to get them. There was a time when the code describing how the badges could be gained was online. At the time the Atlas badge was awarded for completing 150 exercises. But at that time there were fewer than 100 exercises on Khan Academy.

What Black Hole badges are there?

In addition to the three unknown badges, there are a couple of unique badges that only Sal has, and only Sal can get:

  • Is Sal - Which you can only get if you are Sal.
  • Galileo - Make 3000 videos (there are now other video makers, but none close to making 300 videos).

Tesla

Of all the black hole badges, the most attainable is Tesla. This badge is awarded for getting 10 million energy points. Several people have got it now, some using various cheat to generate points. But there are enough videos and exercises that you can get this badge without cheating. This video show when I got the Tesla badge:

The Atlas badge is the most changeable of badges, always moving out of reach (except for the one time Ben Eater, lead exercise developer on Khan Academy got it by mistake). It was once for completing 150 exercises, then 250 and then 500. Now it has changed again, to another unattainable number. I suspect that when Khan Academy feels there are enough exercises to cover all of high school maths (or maybe one topic), then they will settle on a number. But for now it is not possible.

That leaves the latest badge, Artemis. I did look up the code for this badge when I was employed by Khan Academy and had access to their code. All I can say is that, like Atlas, it is currently not possible to get this badge.

Comments (83)

Jeanbean on 13 May 2018, 6:53 p.m.

Ugh whats the point its impossible why is that even a badge......

cobblerisaiah on 14 May 2018, 6:29 p.m.

it is vary hard to get. but I wont the so bad

liam on 14 May 2018, 6:46 p.m.

how DO YOU GET IT

Charlotte Lewicki on 15 May 2018, 2:41 p.m.

Um you employes are making khan academy look SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad because you're saying it's impossible to get 2 BADGES.I mean if it's impossible to get a badge and khan academy will not settle on it's difficulty,you should just take it off.So many kids in my class are LYING to me that they have it and YOU are making these kids do this

Bob on 20 May 2018, 4:10 p.m.

I think that Is the point

JeBron Lames on 21 May 2018, 4:13 p.m.

LOL People are getting mad over a MATH PROGRAM. The black hole badges (such as Is Sal) that are impossible are just a joke...

Spangeee-bobbbb on 27 May 2018, 10:14 p.m.

Like JeBron Lames said, it's a math program! It's two badges! Y'all Are getting mad over a stupid two badges, (which u shouldn't be focusing on if u litterally can't get them), when you don't even pay attention to the fact that
a(this could be a joke)
b(khan provides free, good quality education for all people around the world)!
Just get over it!
it's a measly 2 badges! jeesh
P.S: Charlotte, how are they making khan look bad? It is 2 badges, and not too many people know about them. Plus, lots of people focus on the education part, and not so much on the badges.
Honestly, this is a pointless argument.

Megagiratintwobrine on 29 May 2018, 6:16 p.m.

I checked out Sal's account, the first badge in her showcase is the Is Sal badge, so it isn't fake and the third one is the Galileo badge so they are real, just exclusive to her (except if you make 3000 videos for the Galileo badge)

me on 6 Jun 2018, 8:29 p.m.

Sal is a he just so you know

AyaANdAsWag on 22 Jun 2018, 11:44 p.m.

I don't see any Is Sal badge. There are only three being shown.

Safwan on 31 Aug 2018, 4:45 p.m.

You can see it on Sals profile: https://www.khanacademy.org/profile/sal

K on 14 Sep 2018, 7:06 p.m.

Like LeBron James said and Spange bob, khan academy is a math site for kids to learn. You don’t have to get mad at the fact that 2 badges are impossible to get.There are plenty of other badges

iluvchess on 18 Sep 2018, 11:10 p.m.

sal's profile says that he has unlimited points and joined in the beginning

Unknown on 19 Sep 2018, 1:32 a.m.

Im pretty sure to get artemis badge u might have to get all greek mythology questions and quizzes and tests right 100% and first try. Im not sure but if someone is a pro at khanacademy they can try. I want to help rly bad. i just started on my account so......

Someone try this method. They could get the badge and be the first, i dont want credit. If someone gets the badge ill write another thingy.

WeaselRacer on 21 Sep 2018, 2:32 p.m.

The point of all the badges are to make people go beyond there limits, and for the ones that are impossible to get, say you where Sal and you worked on this website for 30 years its nice to have a badge that is special and no one else can have. if your still CRAZY about it then go change your name to Sal Khan and work for 30 years!

Talongraybill on 21 Sep 2018, 10:58 p.m.

Can you please give me a black hole badge.I’m not allowed to do anything in-till I get one.

Logan on 27 Sep 2018, 1:55 p.m.

This was written in 2011 correct? So just because he said something 7 YEARS ago doesnt make it true NOW. They might be obtainable now but as far as im aware, the 3rd one is not obtainable, the 2nd one is.

Biblelover on 10 Oct 2018, 5:24 p.m.

Even though i'm ten, I know enough to see that there is no reason to make fuss over 5 black hole badges. I may be halfway to getting Tesla, and it really is the only obtainable black hole badge, but i'm not making as much of a fuss over them as some people are.

yeee on 11 Oct 2018, 11:58 p.m.

Khan Acdemy recently updated it's math section, so has the Artemis badge been changed also?
(•v•)

Ƚɨẝɛ ℛυȵȵɛɼ on 19 Oct 2018, 1:04 p.m.

Atlas and Artemis are at 1500 skills, and Is Sal gives you 100,000,000 energy points.

Bill Nye(Science Guy) on 26 Oct 2018, 9:54 p.m.

Khan Is Helpful

A Random Person on 28 Oct 2018, 4:07 p.m.

Ugh, I'm not even close to getting the Tesla badge. I only have 303,834 energy points. Why does Khan Academy even put impossible badges in the possible section anyways? It would be sort of frustrating to find that THREE of the Black Hole Badges are impossible to get?

A Random Person on 28 Oct 2018, 4:10 p.m.

ps how can somebody have infinite energy points makes no sense to me

Skynet on 6 Nov 2018, 3:50 a.m.

By cheating and hacking, which is much easier than doing an infinite amount of work.

Derp on 7 Nov 2018, 3:05 a.m.

I just mastered 1012 skills, and was pretty disappointed when i found out i didn't get atlas. Its not rlly that big of a deal, as khan academy is free. I also have 2.2 million energy points, wanting to earn tesla. I do realize that I'm probably never going to get it, xD. Don't argue on such pointless terms.

MrMcFee on 14 Nov 2018, 6:18 a.m.

I don't see why people are making such a fuss over a badge on a free educational website. And to answer your question A Random Person, Salman Khan is the founder of KhanAcademy, so he can do whatever he wants on it, and he chose to give himself infinite energy points and all the badges. If you guys are trying to find out how to get this badge, you obviously are spending WAY too much time on this website. Of course, Khan Academy is a good website, but if you're spending all of your time on how to get a badge, you should go outside and get some exercise, and make a friend.

Adam on 3 Dec 2018, 1:01 a.m.

I know why atlas is impossible. Sal wants people to make goals. And try hard to get badges. Everyone wants to get the hard badges. So he puts up 3 black hole badges. (There is actually 5.) He doesn’t tell you how to get the black hole badges. That makes people try to get the badge. They do a lot of math and stuff. That makes sal happy. He wants that. Except he knows that the badge is impossible. Back when khan was knew, people thougtht every badge is possible, so they worked hard to get it. But they never did. That’s because it isn’t possible! Sal just wants people to work hard. Don’t let sal fool you.

Roy on 19 Dec 2018, 4:30 a.m.

Wow. I haven't gotten even the 1000000 points mark, and my name is Roy,

Jay on 27 Dec 2018, 6:27 a.m.

The very max points you can get by watching all of the videos and completing all of the exercises is approx 7.5 million. (I know, I went though every section and counted all of the videos and points because I wanted to plan out my course to 10 million once I got past 6 million. And there are currently at least 1000 duplicate videos in different topics) So it will take you 75% brain and brawn to get 100% on the quizzes and exams, then wake up and get smart for the remaining 2.4 million points. The guy in the video doing 1st grade addition when he got his black hole badge badge, give us a break.

AG101 on 5 Jan 2019, 3:15 a.m.

Sure, I'm a big fan of the badges in Khan Academy but I wouldn't get MAD over some black hole badge that you can't get right? I mean, like Jay said, the guy in the video really was doing 1st grade addition when he "earned" his black hole badge which must mean that it was a mistake. If I'm correct, he must have faked getting the black hole badge (I don't know how to hack programs or anything.)

Peter on 5 Jan 2019, 4:01 p.m.

If you look, I had 9,999,980 points, which I got by doing most of the exercises on KA that existed at the time. I decided to get the final points to push me over to 10 million I would pick the easiest exercise on KA partly because it would be ironic, partly so I didn't get the answer wrong while I was filming.

Saul on 18 Jan 2019, 12:53 a.m.

khan academy is for learning through out your life to be successful! Don't judge the badges. They are just for fun/challenges. I didn't expect this many people arguing over ONLY 2 badges. Not a big deal BUT tesla can be your only black hole badge you can unlock.

I hope you like this comment and stop worrying too much on the badges!!
Hope you have fun and learn a lot to go on because the more you learn the FASTER you get the badges but don't keeping thinking about them because your brain won't focus on the learning part

from, khan academy team aka Saul

Saul on 18 Jan 2019, 4:46 a.m.

I got a tip kids. Don't worry to much on the badges because if you do then you will end up not focusing on your normal work and won't even get the badge but on the other hand, if you focus on the work then you will get the badge without even noticing!!!

just work till' you win and good luck on the GLD exam for the best khan players!!!
I'll see you there (if you are a khan master) then we all battle for $1,000,000!!!!!!!!!!!!

good hopes
-Saul

the dude on 1 Feb 2019, 12:46 p.m.

I saw the sal badge that sal had so i have an idea maybe you guys can create an acount that your name is sal so maybe we can get the badge.

yahll be stupid on 6 Feb 2019, 3:58 a.m.

it is impossible to get is sahl because if you try it just says that that user name is taken

Not Pikachu on 14 Feb 2019, 10:36 p.m.

Is Sal is impossible, and you have to have creator access for videos for Galileo, and a huge video creating hobby.

Aaron on 18 Feb 2019, 4:11 p.m.

I have been with Khan Academy for 6 years and I have 1.6 mil. energy points. I have always wanted an black hole badge. I do have a lot of badges that are retired so YaY. It's been my goal to get the Tesla badge but it is not my only goal. I know that I will probably never get it, but its all fine. It's a free educational site, deal with it.

The Human on 8 Mar 2019, 3:28 p.m.

To Aaron, that is a lot of energy points

Bluestar1213 on 12 Mar 2019, 12:18 a.m.

Getting that much?! I'm not even on 1,000,000 energy points yet!

ttv_ObSoldier on 13 Apr 2019, 8:35 p.m.

black hole badges are cool, but getting ten million energy points requires a lot of work. Damn, I'm only at 130k energy points. Time to get rollin'!

Luigi on 18 Apr 2019, 6:15 p.m.

I will say that Atlas badge is made to be really unattainable. Upon exploring the concept of the Black Hole badges, the names on it indicates a special purpose related to the person. Tesla, was named after Nikola Tesla, who popularized the concept of electricity, in which the badge represents the earning of large level of energy, as related to the electricity, an electrical energy.

The Atlas, was based by Atlas in the Greek mythology. As the time increases, the task also becoming harder, as how Atlas was punished to hold the heavens for ETERNITY. The article: "...was a Titan condemned to hold up the celestial heavens for eternity after the Titanomachy." It takes ETERNITY to earn this badge.

As I researched out, the Artemis badge might be attained when all Moon badges are achieved. Artemis is known to be the Goddess of the hunt, forests and hills, the MOON, and archery.

someone on 23 Apr 2019, 10:18 a.m.

To get Tesla, you need to watch videos, do courses and much, much more. You'd probably be able to get Tesla in 4-5 months if you do this. I'm almost at 1,000,000 points, so another 9,000,000 to go! :)

larry garson on 4 Jun 2019, 5:53 p.m.

It is quite well known that Tesla is the only attainable black hole badge. The others are just there to make you work hard because sal is a really nice guy who wants us all to learn things. However, if you are one of those people who wants to get Tesla without any work it is not true that you would need to complete a wide range of tasks. Each task, even if wrong, will give you 100 points for completion (even if you just skip all the answers). You could therefore quite easily write code for a bot as a chrome extension or user-script (or find one online) to quickly click on these things, if you do it on multiple windows at once you could leave your computer on overnight and get it. Not sure why you would do this, I certainly have not, but just speculating on what would be the easiest way. Also keep in mind that if you cannot grasp a concept there are a limited number of questions on each topic and you could just write down the answers after using hints and then use them when you go through again.

Noah Park on 19 Jun 2019, 8:52 p.m.

What’s the point of trying to get atlas and artemis when it is impossible?

tbgaming on 9 Jul 2019, 12:40 a.m.

why is there a badge called artemis and atlas if u cant even get it (and btw I love greek gods so add it and hurry)

X244bleh on 31 Aug 2019, 9:57 p.m.

What’s the point of making impossible badges if you can’t get them??!!??

sandra the 4th grade kid on 18 Sep 2019, 6:10 p.m.

It's possible to get some of them. If i'm gonna get a few i'm gonna try my best to get them! Though i'm a starter. Just i need to find history and science on here to do it....

unknown on 26 Sep 2019, 12:12 a.m.

well i guess it makes sense that tesla doesn't give any points for earning it. i mean, 10,000,000 ENERGY POINTS? DUDE?! FOR THAT BADGE!?! yeah i don't need any more energy points after i get 10,000,000 of them. and by the way, somehow my profile is sal khan's profile.

CATS_RUL_=-) on 2 Oct 2019, 9:30 p.m.

What is the point anyway? the easiest badge is only if you can get 10 MILLION points, you can't do that in a year!!

Great on 7 Oct 2019, 4:02 p.m.

I don't really agree with what Luigi said, about the artemis badge because for an experienced Khan academy user, it would be relatively easy to get all of the moon badges. ( even though some of them I have no idea how to get.) A more realistic requirment would be to get all of the challenge patches, or all of the Earth and Sun Badges.

D.R. on 13 Oct 2019, 2:38 a.m.

I really want a black hole badge. I am so close to getting one! If I can, I will be so happy.

peepcheep3 on 31 Oct 2019, 3:26 a.m.

oof all of these look impossible to get. i got 119 badges so far. i also have 450,854 energy points. i bet getting one of them tesla, is possible. meh. mite take me as long as i live witch is i dunno how long.

Grimm on 9 Nov 2019, 5:10 a.m.

Just reached the 1 mil mark 8 days ago, and this post is still poppin' a year later, which is great.
Good work, Peter! People like you make it possible for people like me to stay educated. :]

KhanAcademyEpicGamer on 21 Nov 2019, 7:18 p.m.

To get the Tesla badge you need 10,000,000 energy points. To get the Is Sal badge you need to Be Sal. To get the Artemis badge you need to achieve mastery in 2,000 or more in skills -Impossible. To get the Atlas badge you need to achieve mastery in 1,500 or more in skills -Impossible. To get the Galileo badge you must post 3,000 videos on khan academy.

umm on 16 Dec 2019, 5:41 a.m.

I already have 1 million points, but just saying that you have to get 10 million points to get the Tesla badge, I think it is crazy. Would anyone actually go on khan academy and be a work horse to get 10 million points?

alcortje on 9 Feb 2020, 4:55 a.m.

I do have the Tesla badge. I earned it a few days ago. It took a lot of effort. I've been on Khan Academy for over five years. You can do it but it takes a lot of effort. That's not just learning math, it's grammar, history, science, art, music, and the list goes on. I have a lot of retired ones as well. But I've learned a lot along the way.

kool_karrz_24 on 27 Feb 2020, 2:35 a.m.

I got the Tesla badge!!!!!!!!!! I have 14,000,054 energy points!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been working on Khan Academy ever since I was in kindergarten. Now I'm in college and I have 14,000,054 energy points!!! I wish I could have more, but now I don't do Khan Academy anymore. Cause I have other stuff. Much more important.

Joshua on 14 Mar 2020, 3:11 p.m.

Why did they make 3 black hole bages if only 1 is possible to get?!?

carlturner5 on 19 Mar 2020, 8:50 p.m.

first of all, dont you think that its hilarious that sals first badge is ls Sal, but is last two, work horse (old) and guru,require mastery in 50 skills and to post 10 answers that ern more than 2 votes.
i get that sal has right to anythng he wants in the entirity of khan academy cuz its his website but honestly? a bunch of people go to his profile EVERY DAY! apat from the other two black hole badges, (that are impossible to get by the way but visible on your own badge list,atlas and artemis,) i agree with Joshua.

i get that this is just an education site and its free (which shoudnt matter whatsoever) but i hate when people use hacks or sometin simalar for their own good. its completly and thorogly unreosanable and i think sal should make the atlas and the artemis badges obtainable.
another thing is that people look forward to getting those badges, including me. even if they are/were obtainable, khan should specify HOW (same thing with the tesla award). you might criticise me for going on and on about FOUR BADGES but its worse than yo think cuz they are the 4 most ledgndar badges in the entirity of the WHOLE PROGRAM

Bbruh on 26 Mar 2020, 10:12 p.m.

do you all rly ask the same question abt the 2 impossible badges like your gonna get the answer the last person didn't.

hiiiiiii on 30 Mar 2020, 4:01 p.m.

I agree with everyone who said it is virtually impossible because it is! Besides this is just a learning website and it does not matter.

hiiiiiii on 30 Mar 2020, 4:05 p.m.

Also, I think it might be possible to get the artemis badge, you just have to get all the moon badges, as artemis is greek goddess of hunting and the moon.

Badge geek on 30 Mar 2020, 5:50 p.m.

tesla needs 10,000,000 energy points. Atlas is 1500 skills mastered and there are currently 1,440 skills in math witch is 93% of your way to atlas.

Wolfy on 7 Apr 2020, 2:19 p.m.

i am just starting so whats the easest on to get?

Phylum on 8 Apr 2020, 4:21 p.m.

I'm currently at 3,459,996 energy points. You guys say that you acquire Artemis, you need to master 1,500 skills. Looking at the world of math mission page, mastering everything gives you 1,498 mastered skills. Is Artemis exclusively for math topics, or for all topics? I would assume for math topics, otherwise people would have it by now.

random person 2.0 on 13 Apr 2020, 8:58 a.m.

Why are people still arguing about the badges!!!! Khan academy is a free learning website! Just be grateful its at least possible to get Artemis!!

carlturner5 on 13 Apr 2020, 9:06 p.m.

hiiii no offense but you are actually wrong. you have to get every badge to get artemis easier said than done cuz artemis is a badge. this means you have to get artemis to get atemis. to get that artemis you have to get a nother artemis, and on and on and on and on. so yeas artermis is unabtainable
sal,
stop making me feel inferior! this is unreal! (pun intended :|| )

Zero on 18 Apr 2020, 11:46 p.m.

Not only can you get the Tesla by watching videos and passing off skills, you can also get it by earning badges with the numbers in the corners of the badge. That number is how many energy points you get. You shouldn't even worry about it, ive been in Khan for 5 years and I only have about 270,000 energy points.

Blake on 27 Apr 2020, 8 p.m.

Tesla is the hardest energy points badge you can get. I've almost been on khan academy 3 years and 2 badges I almost have is kelper and five times ten to the fifth. What! it says I can't get five times ten to the fifth anymore!

Random Entity on 29 Apr 2020, 3:56 p.m.

What are Retired Badges? Can someone give me a list of all of them?

xxFireGirlxx on 5 May 2020, 9:38 p.m.

I agree with Great. I saw something where to get the other two that shows on the screen you have to get all the sun and moon badges for both of those badges. Also that will get you close to Tesla.

xxFireGirlxx on 5 May 2020, 9:40 p.m.

Blake, I have kelper and I've been on for 8 months. P.S. I actually skipped a grade and know 8th grade math.

Other Common Sense on 6 May 2020, 10:41 p.m.

Calm down, common sense, to harsh. At the same time, I agree that the Creator deserves serios cudos, and that really jut let the creator chill with their badges that people cant get. They deserve it.

a really random but epic person on 28 May 2020, 1:38 a.m.

i tried sooo hard and i am not giving up

rand on 28 May 2020, 5:36 p.m.

retired badges are still a nice flex to have

Filipradinovic on 9 Jun 2020, 1:59 p.m.

I have been trying for months but I still am not giving up.

Khan Academy on 9 Jun 2020, 10:33 p.m.

Keep On Trying!😊

YEEET on 11 Jun 2020, 6:41 p.m.

I just got Tesla.
https://www.khanacademy.org/profile/Ajoseph2017/

S. Thakral on 26 Jun 2020, 5:38 a.m.

Aye first of all, this is great, sal is hilarious, man j trolled on everyone 😂. Don't call khan academy "a stupid site for kids to do math" It literally has an infinite ammount of topics and subjects, SAT and other test preperations, and a wide wide variety of knowledge that helps students even into uni, it is free, world class education for anyone who wants to access it. Also j let Sal flex, man created khan academy, he can do whatever he wants w his profile

Tesla on 29 Jun 2020, 5:17 p.m.

Khan Academy is a great learning program.😀Sal should be allowed to have some fun. Why do you even care if two of the badges are impossible. 🥈 Forget about those two.

Vn on 17 Aug 2020, 9 p.m.

I only came on khan academy 3years ago, I have 2,000,000 points, but the day before I got 2,000,000 the Rajaman badge retired.

khan on 20 Aug 2020, 10:24 p.m.

I'm not even halfway to 1,000,000

Wolfy on 8 Sep 2020, 12:32 a.m.

I want it, but it was impossible