Can you imagine the earth getting sucked into a black hole? Well, here we are to explore the unimaginable. There are millions of black holes all across the universe. Getting caught in the irresistible grip of a black hole is quite something to even imagine. Let’s dive in to see what could actually happen.
A black hole – a mysterious cosmic vacuum with gravity so strong that not even light can escape. Now, let’s picture Earth, our beautiful home, getting closer and closer to this region of spacetime. Well, as we get closer to the black hole, its intense gravitational pull would start to stretch and squish our planet.
Sucked Into A Blackhole!
A black hole, the size of a 1-millimeter pin can rip our planet if it was close enough. Why? It’s because of its incredibly dense mass and massive gravitational pull. However, our survival depends on whether we get through the black hole’s event horizon – that’s like the point of no return. Anything that wishes to escape this point has to travel faster than the light! Not entirely possible now is it?
If we came close enough to the event horizon, the side close to the black hole will stretch towards it. Our atmosphere is likely to get vacuumed up and our earth will be ripped into pieces. If Earth somehow manages to get into a black hole’s orbit, our Earth will face abnormalities with uneven gravitational fields. Earth’s core will also heat up to a destructive level due to tidal heating. It doesn’t just stop there! There will be a deadly increase in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.
Image Source: NASA
Eventually, we reach the most intense gravitation where everything will stretch vertically and be more compressed. This process is called “spaghettification” – and no, it’s not about Earth turning into a spaghetti noodle. Instead, it’s a mind-blowing stretching effect caused by the difference in the strength of gravity!
According to physicists, spaghettification can even take place some hundred kilometers away from the event horizon. But if it’s a supermassive black hole ( which is a million or billion times the size of our sun) things can be a little different. In this case, spaghettification is likely to happen inside the event horizon.
If the earth continues its journey toward the heart of the black hole, it will experience even stronger forces. Even individual atoms will not be able to hold together. Our planet would be torn apart at the molecular level, becoming part of the swirling, glowing disk of gas and dust surrounding the black hole.
What happens if we survive a black hole?
Unfortunately, there is no winning in a fight with a black hole. But If we surpass the event horizon and somehow magically manage to survive, we will be in for some strange spacetime scenario! There is a chance we may discover ourselves in another dimension or a parallel universe.
How close is the nearest black hole?
There are around 100 million black holes in the galaxy we are in. The closest black holes are Gaia BH1 and Gaia BH2. These two are approximately 1,560 and 3,800 light-years from our planet, respectively. So, don’t worry, we are pretty safe.
Conclusion
Getting in the irresistible grip of a black hole is strange to even imagine. If the heart gets into a black hole, the journey will have many disastrous outcomes. The intense gravitational forces in a black hole can rip our earth into pieces. There is no possibility so far that we would survive such a massive encounter. However, there is always room to imagine the unthinkable. What if we survive? While we might not have to worry about this happening anytime soon, it’s a reminder of just how incredible and powerful the cosmos truly is
Also read,