Here’s what falling inside a black hole would look like, according to a NASA supercomputer simulation

Have you ever wondered what happens if you were to fall into a black hole? Thanks to cutting-edge visualisations produced on a NASA supercomputer, this mind-bending experience is now within reach. Astrophysicist Jeremy Schnittman, alongside fellow scientist Brian Powell, has crafted immersive simulations that take viewers on a perilous voyage toward the event horizon — the point of no return — of a supermassive black hole.

Utilising the immense computational power of the Discover supercomputer at NASA's Center for Climate Simulation, Schnittman and Powell have unlocked a window into the enigmatic world of black holes. These simulations, which generated a staggering 10 terabytes of data, offer multiple perspectives, from what would happen if we fell into the black hole itself, to the view of an observer narrowly missing the gravity giant.

The journey begins with a distant view of the black hole, its gravitational pull quickly dominating the scene. As the camera hurtles toward the abyss, the surrounding space-time distorts, bending light and warping the familiar constellations into unrecognisable shapes. Along the way, viewers witness the surreal dance of an accretion disk — a swirling mass of hot gas — and photon rings, hauntingly beautiful structures born from light orbiting the black hole.


But as the camera approaches the event horizon, time itself seems to slow, echoing the eerie stillness of this cosmic boundary. This is where the laws of physics, as we understand them, begin to unravel. The phenomenon known as spaghettification awaits those unfortunate enough to cross the threshold — a relentless tidal force that stretches and distorts everything in its grasp into noodle-like structures.


For the daring astronaut who dares to skirt the edge of oblivion, time itself becomes a plaything. The effects of gravitational time dilation mean that while the spacefarer may experience a 6-hour-round trip, her comrades faraway would end up being 36 minutes younger upon her returning. And if the black hole were to possess a rapid rotation, as depicted in the film “Interstellar," the temporal disparity would be even more extreme.

In the end, whether one's fate is sealed within the inescapable grip of the singularity or they emerge unscathed, these simulations offer a tantalising glimpse into the profound mysteries of the cosmos. Through the lens of cutting-edge science and technology, we venture ever closer to understanding the true nature of these cosmic behemoths.