That day has come. Now we can enjoy the most real visualization of the black hole. So to speak, get to know the everyday life of these space monsters better. The fact is that NASA has released an impressive render of a simulated black hole that demonstrates how the extreme gravitational forces created by these massive objects distort the light around them, creating a distorting mirror effect. The visualization from different angles shows the remnants of stars that have died as a result of supernova explosions.
What does a black hole look like?
If, after looking at this visualization, you do not fully understand what is happening, we will tell you. One of the most notable features of this video is the black hole's "accretion disk" - a hot, thin, spinning disk formed by matter that spirals slowly into the center of the object. As the substance is absorbed, the light it emits is distorted, creating a characteristic appearance.
A still from a NASA simulation video.
The material in the disk, which is closest to the center, moves incredibly fast, rotating at a speed close to the speed of light. Meanwhile, the outer parts of the disc move a little slower. When we look at a black hole from the side, the left side of the accretion disk appears brighter than the right. This can be explained by a phenomenon known as "Doppler radiation", in which the apparent brightness of matter moving at a speed close to the speed of light changes under the influence of phenomena described by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.
However, when we look at a black hole directly face to face, the differences in brightness are not visible because matter on the disk is not moving. At the center of the visualization is an area devoid of light, known as the "black hole shadow", which is about twice the event horizon - a point outside the black hole from where even light cannot escape due to the strong gravitational pull. Beyond the event horizon, all known laws of physics don't work, and gravity is infinite.
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Finally, an attentive observer will notice the “ring of photons” that frames the center of the black hole. It looks nearly identical from any viewing angle in the render. In fact, light can orbit the black hole several times before escaping and becoming visible to us.
How was the visualization of the black hole created?
Imaging creator Jeremy Schnittman, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, says simulations like these help us understand exactly what Albert Einstein meant when he described how gravity distorts the fabric of spacetime. Scientists note that, until recently, visualizations were limited by imagination and computer programs. Now, thanks to the efforts of specialists, we can see how a real black hole lives.
Recall that in April this year, scientists working with the global network of radio telescopes Event Horizon made history by showing the world an image of a black hole located in the center of the galaxy M87, which is located at a distance of 53 million light years from Earth. According to experts, almost every galaxy in the universe has a supermassive black hole at its center.
The process was split into two steps, according to the scientists who worked on the video. First, a computer program was written to calculate how light travels around a black hole and how it would look from afar. Other elements orbiting the black hole were then modeled, including magnetic fields. What we see in the video is the result of the combination of two programs.
Combining these videos with other scientific data makes it clear how beautiful and at the same time intimidating general relativity is. Let's imagine that space travel has become a reality. How would an astronaut see a black hole if he was nearby? Experts believe that what he would see looked almost the same as in the video.
Lyubov Sokovikova