![]() Supermassive black holes are thought to lie at the heart of almost all galaxies. “Our whole point here is to turn this idea of an event horizon into an experimental science, and find out if event horizons really do exist or not,” said Pawan Kumar, a professor of astrophysics at The University of Texas at Austin. ![]() Though widely believed, the existence of event horizons has not been proved. Once matter or energy gets close enough to the black hole, it cannot escape - it will be pulled in. Most scientists agree that black holes, cosmic entities of such great gravity that nothing can escape their grip, are surrounded by a so-called event horizon. Their results constitute another successful test for Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Garlick/CfAĪUSTIN, Texas - Astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin and Harvard University have put a basic principle of black holes to the test, showing that matter completely vanishes when pulled in. The black hole is so large and massive that tidal effects on the star are negligible, and the star is swallowed whole. Have your say in our news democracy.This artist’s impression shows a star crossing the event horizon of a supermassive black hole located in the center of a galaxy. Stephen Hawking even once proposed that people could escape a supermassive black hole using stars.īut hopefully people won't have to worry about falling in a black hole in the near future. "Some people think that conventional physics breaks down at the event horizon, and all sorts of weird stuff happens to you-including that you possibly never manage to pierce the event horizon." Glenn Starkman, a physicist and astronomer at Case Western Reserve University, told Newsweek. In fact, no one is sure how confusing or violent the experience for one in a supermassive black hole would be. Unlike stellar black holes, supermassive ones would take much longer to cross the event horizon and it would be more peaceful. Scientists use Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and observations of black holes tearing apart stars to determine this most likely scenario when dealing with a stellar-mass black hole or one with a mass of tens of times the mass of the Sun.įortunately, no person has, or will likely, experienced spaghettification because black holes are too far away for humans to reach.īut there is some evidence to suggest that supermassive black holes would deliver a different experience. \u201cimagine discovering something as harrowing as the effect a black hole has on something and calling it something absolutely wizard like "spaghettification"\u201d - Dan Ahern \ud83c\udfae Ahern \ud83c\udfae) ![]() Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In fact, it would be so strong that while a person got sucked into a black hole they would experience a completely different perception of time and space all while being pulled vertically and condensed horizontally in a process known as "spaghettification." At this point, there is no way to escape the intense gravitational pull, not even light can pass through. Whether it's determining what one may sound like or photographing what a black hole looks like it's fascinating to understand the parts of the universe we cannot visit.īut why can't we go near a black hole? What would happen if you got sucked into one? According to scientists from NASA, it wouldn't be great.Ī person would have to reach the 'event horizon' of a black hole first in order to experience it. We hear all about black holes from astronomers and scientists who dedicate their lives to studying them. It's normal to wonder about the inexplicable things in life and for many people black holes are one of those topics that make you think "what if.". ![]()
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