Effect of Black Holes on Stars Simulated

A research team led by Taeho Ryu at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany created simulations that show how eight different stars change when they pass near a black hole. Each of these stars, whose models were created, has different masses and densities. The black hole in the simulation is one million times more massive than our Sun.

The video shared on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel shows the change of each star in detail. These simulations were recorded as the first experiments to combine the physical effects of Einstein’s ‘general theory of relativity’ with realistic models of the masses and densities of stars.

The change experienced by the stars is proportional to their ‘density’:

In the simulation, the changes experienced by eight different stars were recorded simultaneously. The black dot at the bottom of the screen represents the square hole, the white half-ellipse represents the orbit of the stars and the ‘X’ represents the stars. When the stars are closest to the black hole, they are about 40 million kilometers apart. But even this distance is enough to stretch and bend the stars and shatter some of them completely.

The masses of the stars were prepared by comparing them with the Sun. Located in the upper left corner of the image, the star has approximately ‘one-tenth’ the mass of the Sun. The star shown as ‘1’ among the stars whose masses are increasing from left to right has the same mass as the Sun. The star shown as ’10’ has ten times the mass. However, the opposite is true for density ratios. The smallest star has the most density, while the largest star has the least density.

Video of simulations:

The results show that stars with more mass but less inner density suffer greater damage. On the other hand, when the stars with high density start to move away from the black hole, it is seen that they start to regain their former state thanks to their ‘gravity’. The researchers state that such simulations prepared by supercomputers have an important role in our understanding of the destruction caused by black holes millions of light years away.