So if you jumped into one, your exact fate might depend on which sort of black hole you choose.Īt the simplest level, there are three kinds of black holes: stellar-mass black holes, supermassive black holes and intermediate-mass black holes. Choose your black hole adventureīlack holes come in different varieties and can be modeled with different levels of complexity, like whether or not they spin or have an electrical charge. Today, black holes are considered an ordinary part of stellar evolution, and astronomers suspect our Milky Way galaxy holds millions of them alone. However, the concept wasn’t really taken seriously until the 1960s, when extremely compact stars were discovered. Physicists had toyed with theories about similar objects for decades before Albert Einstein’s general relativity predicted their existence. This is where the laws of physics, as we know them, break down, meaning all theories about what lies beyond are just speculation.īlack holes seem exotic to most of us, but they’re commonplace to scientists. Beyond the event horizon lies a truly minuscule point called a singularity, where gravity is so intense that it infinitely curves space-time itself. They’re only visible when they’re feeding on stars or gas clouds that stray too close to their boundary, called the event horizon. Simply put, a black hole is a place where gravity is so strong that no light - or anything else, for that matter - can escape.īlack holes are aptly named because they usually don't reflect or emit light.
To fully appreciate why you can’t just swan dive or pilot your spaceship into a black hole, you must first understand the basic properties of these gravitational goliaths. And if you tried to take a plunge into one, like Matthew McConaughey in the movie Interstellar, you’d be ripped apart long before you could find out what’s on the other side.
You can’t actually survive a trip through a black hole.
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