World

NASA gives first inside tour of black hole

Published by

Staff Reporter

2 years ago

One of the most enigmatic phenomena in the cosmos is the colossal black holes situated at the heart of nearly every galaxy in the universe, their interiors shrouded in mystery.

These cosmic behemoths form when massive stars exhaust their fuel and explode in a spectacular event known as a supernova.

As the dying star collapses under its gravity, it creates a gravitational well so deep that not even light can escape, consuming the surrounding celestial matter in its grasp.

Many ponder what would occur if someone were to venture into a black hole.

NASA recently provided insight through a simulation generated by a supercomputer, unveiling possible scenarios for such an event.

Jeremy Schnittman of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said in a press release: “People often ask about this, and simulating these difficult-to-imagine processes helps me connect the mathematics of relativity to actual consequences in the real Universe.”

“So I simulated two different scenarios, one where a camera – a stand-in for a daring astronaut – just misses the event horizon and slingshots back out, and one where it crosses the boundary, sealing its fate,” he added.

Black holes have such a potent gravitational pull that not even light can escape. And where there’s no light, it can’t be seen what is inside.

“Stellar-mass black holes, which contain up to about 30 solar masses, possess much smaller event horizons and stronger tidal forces, which can rip apart approaching objects before they get to the horizon.”

Staff Reporter