For the first time in history, NASA has managed to simulate on video what it would be like to enter a black hole, one of the most enigmatic and disconcerting phenomena in the Universe.
Black holes have been objects of fascination and mystery since their discovery. Scientists, astrophysicists and space buffs have speculated about what might be inside these massive, mysterious objects, as well as what happens once we cross their event horizon.
The simulation, developed by the supercomputer, offers the best visual representation to date of what it could be like to enter a black hole, based on current data and knowledge.
Jeremy Schnittman, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center who was responsible for this groundbreaking simulation, commented: “People often wonder what’s inside a black hole and what it would be like to enter one. Simulating these processes helps us connect the theory of relativity with real consequences in the Universe.”
The simulation presents two different scenarios: one in which a camera, acting as an intrepid astronaut, fails at the event horizon and is ejected, and another in which it crosses this boundary, sealing its fate inside the black hole.
Black holes are the densest known objects in the Universe, mathematically describable as singularities, points of infinite density. Its gravity is so intense that not even light can escape its pull once it crosses the event horizon.
