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Credit & Copyright: Robert Nemiroff
(MTU)
Explanation:
What would it look like to orbit a black hole?
Since the strong gravity of the black hole can significantly alter light paths,
conditions would indeed look strange.
For one thing, the
entire sky would be visible,
since even stars behind the
black hole would have their light bent to the observer's eye.
For another, the sky near the black hole would appear
significantly distorted,
with more and more images of the entire sky visible increasingly near the black hole.
Most visually striking, perhaps, is the outermost sky image
completely contained inside an easily discernible circle known as the
Einstein ring.
Orbiting a black hole, as shown in the above scientifically-accurate
computer-created
illustrative video, will show stars that pass nearly directly
behind the black hole as zipping around rapidly near the Einstein ring.
Although star images near the
Einstein ring
may appear to move
faster than light, no star is actually
moving that quickly.
The above video is part
of a
sequence of videos
visually exploring the space near a black hole's
event horizon.
(Disclosure: Video creator Robert Nemiroff is an editor for APOD.)
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: black hole
Publications with words: black hole
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy
- APOD: 2024 October 1 Á Porphyrion: The Longest Known Black Hole Jets
- APOD: 2024 June 16 Á Animation: Black Hole Destroys Star
- Simulation: Two Black Holes Merge
- The Galaxy, the Jet, and a Famous Black Hole
- APOD: 2024 May 8 Á Visualization: A Black Hole Accretion Disk
- APOD: 2024 May 7 Á Black Hole Accreting with Jet