In 1916, Albert Einstein first predicted the existence of black holes with his general theory of relativity. In 1964, a galactic X-ray source became the first astronomical object to be confirmed to be a black hole.
Decades after it was first conceptualized, black holes remain among the most mysterious objects in the universe. One of the puzzling questions surrounding this cosmic body is the fate that awaits anyone who falls within this region.
Strange Properties of Black Holes
Black holes are considered to be the densest objects in the cosmos. While no one knows yet what matter looks like beyond the event horizon, astronomers understand the physics behind these ultra-dense regions in space.
The force of gravity is so strong around this cosmic abyss that space-time warps. Since both matter and space-time approach the speed of light, time seems to slow down.
Most of the black holes in the universe are star-sized with small event horizons. These stellar-mass black holes also have extreme gravitational changes over small distances, which yield violent tidal forces around them. Objects approaching this type of black hole are believed to be torn apart before even reaching the event horizon in a process known as spaghettification.
Meanwhile, supermassive black holes are like vast, calm seas compared to stellar-mass black holes. If someone falls into one, they will still get spaghettified, although they could make it past the event horizon first.
Immersive NASA Visualization
At the NASA Center for Climate Simulation, a team of researchers has created a new video that lets the viewer experience plunging through the accretion disk of a supermassive black hole. The simulation was made using the Discover supercomputer.
In this immersive video, astrophysicist Jeremy Schnittman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center replicates the possible events that can happen should someone get too close to a supermassive black hole like the one found at the heart of the Milky Way galaxy.
The Event Horizon Telescope first imaged the black hole at the center of our galaxy. The captured images show the cosmic abyss looking like a doughnut of glowing gas that circles a region of infinite darkness. Through this accretion disk, the viewer falls into the new NASA simulation. Upon hitting the event horizon, the sky narrows, and darkness begins to close in, allowing light to shine but with no means to leave.
Because of the crushing gravitational forces, the observer is destroyed just 12.8 seconds after passing the event horizon. After a few microseconds, whatever is left of the ultra-compressed matter hits the black hole's singularity or center. The journey took 79,500 miles (128,000 kilometers) from the event horizon to the singularity, but it happened in just the blink of an eye.
The immersive visualization also shows a non-dead scenario where an astronaut orbits a black hole a few times and then travels back into space. According to Schittman, simulating these processes helps him connect the mathematics of relativity to actual events in the real universe.
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