What Happens When a Black Hole Meets the Sun

Bright Side

Imagine what would happen if a black hole met the Sun! If a black hole got too close to our Sun, it would start pulling material away from it due to its intense gravity. The Sun would stretch and warp, with its gas spiraling into the black hole, creating an incredibly bright and hot accretion disk around it. Over time, the Sun would lose more and more of its mass, eventually being completely consumed. This cosmic encounter would spell the end for our solar system as we know it, but don't worry—it’s not something we need to worry about happening anytime soon!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00Imagine a powerful giant, like the Sun, clashing with a tiny yet mighty opponent, a small black hole.

00:08The collision is imminent, and the fate of the solar system hangs in the balance.

00:12Will the Sun be able to withstand the intense gravitational pull of a tiny black hole, or will it be swallowed whole?

00:20The answer lies in the forces at play in this mind-blowing cosmic collision.

00:25So let's break them down.

00:27First of all, what is a black hole?

00:30A black hole is a region of space where the gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.

00:38Like a cosmic vacuum cleaner, it sucks up anything that gets too close.

00:43It's so massive that it warps the fabric of space-time around it.

00:47Black holes are one of the most scary and mysterious objects in the universe,

00:52a powerful force of nature that defies our understanding of physics, a true enigma of the universe.

00:58Black holes come in different sizes, from small ones that are only a few miles wide,

01:03to supermassive ones that are billions of times the mass of the Sun.

01:08Most of them are formed by the collapse of massive stars.

01:11After the black hole is born, it starts to grow in size by eating everything in its path.

01:17And if two or more black holes collide with each other, they can merge into one enormous cosmic monster in a terrifying dance.

01:25But what about the smaller ones?

01:27The smallest known black holes are called stellar black holes.

01:31It's a type of black hole that weighs three to ten masses of our Sun, while being very small.

01:37It's like taking all the matter in the solar system and squeezing it into something the size of New York City.

01:43And yes, it's considered very small.

01:46Just for comparison, intermediate-mass black holes weigh between 100 to 1,000 solar masses,

01:53and supermassive black holes weigh millions or billions of solar masses while being unimaginably huge in size.

02:00So stellar black holes are basically nothing compared to their relatives.

02:06Imagine a massive star, bigger than our own Sun and with a heart made of nuclear fuel, burning bright and hot.

02:12But as the star runs out of fuel, gravity takes over and starts to squeeze the star.

02:18The more it squeezes, the hotter it gets, until the star's core reaches a temperature of billions of degrees.

02:25Eventually, the core collapses under its own gravity.

02:29This creates a massive blast called a supernova.

02:34This collapse creates a singularity, which means a point of infinite density and gravity.

02:39This point is surrounded by an event horizon, the invisible line beyond which nothing, including light, can escape.

02:47And just like that, voila, a stellar black hole is born.

02:51Pretty mind-blowing, isn't it?

02:53Stellar black holes are the most common type of black holes we know of.

02:57These guys can be found all across our galaxy.

03:01So, what are the chances that such a little monster will come for our Sun?

03:05And in that case, what will happen to us?

03:08Well, actually, the likelihood of the Sun colliding with any black hole is incredibly small.

03:14It's almost impossible for it to happen.

03:16Even though stellar black holes are the most common type of black holes in our universe, they aren't common at all.

03:23The chances of the Sun and some black hole crossing paths is so rare, it's basically like winning the intergalactic lottery.

03:30Only this win wouldn't be that pleasant.

03:33For 2023, the closest known black hole in our solar system is Gaia BH1.

03:39It's about 10 times heavier than our Sun, and even this one is about 1,600 light-years away from us, which is a quadrillion miles.

03:48So, it's safe to say that our Sun is not going anywhere anytime soon.

03:53But never say never, right?

03:55Just like with any astronomical event, we need to understand the different ways something like this could happen.

04:01For example, it would be possible if a rogue black hole passed through our solar system, much like a comet or asteroid passing by.

04:09Unfortunately, unlike comets and asteroids, black holes are invisible and can only be detected by their gravitational pull.

04:16So, it's not like we'd see a big, ominous black hole hurtling towards us.

04:21Rather, we'd only know it was there if it caused some sort of disturbance in the orbits of nearby objects.

04:28So, what now?

04:29We know that the Sun is a massive, luminous star at the center of our solar system.

04:34It's about 4.5 billion years old and has enough fuel to last for another 5 billion years.

04:41This star is so big that it's hard to even comprehend its size.

04:46In fact, if you were to put all the planets in our solar system inside of it, there would still be room for more.

04:52And it's so massive that it contains almost 100% of the total mass of the solar system.

04:58So, it's hard to imagine how some insignificant, small black hole thousands of times smaller than this star can devour it.

05:06And you're right, it won't.

05:07Well, at least not completely.

05:10So, imagine if a rogue black hole arrived in our solar system and has begun to approach the Sun.

05:15As it gets closer and closer, the black hole's immense gravity will start to pull the material from the surface of the Sun.

05:21The Sun would start to get stretched and distorted.

05:24This is called spaghettification.

05:27Imagine a rubber band being stretched until it snaps.

05:30That's kind of what would happen to it.

05:33This gathered material will form a swirling disk around the black hole called an accretion disk.

05:39As more and more material is pulled in, the disk will heat up and start emitting intense radiation.

05:45And as the Sun gets pulled in, it would start to release massive amounts of energy in the form of light and heat.

05:52The Sun would become much brighter and hotter than before.

05:55The Sun's outer layers would be vaporized, creating a massive cloud of gas and dust that would expand outwards.

06:02It would be like a cosmic firework show, but with terrible consequences.

06:07Even though it would be one of the most spectacular views in the universe, we wouldn't be able to see it.

06:13As you might have guessed, the Earth would be in for a really rough time.

06:17The intense radiation and solar material would cause massive wildfires, and the intense heat would vaporize the oceans.

06:25The Earth would be bathed in a constant stream of high-energy particles, and the atmosphere would be ionized.

06:31In short, the chances of any life surviving would be close to zero.

06:36And this collision would have far-reaching consequences not only for the Earth, but for the entire solar system.

06:42The intense radiation and heat would vaporize everything in its path.

06:46All the planets would be destroyed.

06:49Now, the Sun being a larger object than a typical star wouldn't be completely devoured by the black hole,

06:56but it would be significantly distorted and disrupted.

07:00The intense gravity of the black hole would cause the Sun's outer layers to be pulled away,

07:05creating a massive blast called a tidal disruption event.

07:09But either way, in the end, the black hole would win.

07:12It would grow in size, and a new accretion disk would form around it.

07:17As we've seen, the collision of the Sun with a black hole, whether it be a tiny or stellar one, would be an epic and catastrophic event.

07:26But thankfully, as we've already mentioned, the likelihood of such a collision happening is extremely low.

07:33However, that doesn't mean we should stop studying black holes and their potential impact on the universe.

07:40The more we learn about these mysterious objects, the better equipped we'll be to understand and predict their behavior.

07:47So, let's keep researching, exploring, and observing the depths of space.

07:52And who knows, maybe one day we'll come across a black hole that's just too curious and gets too close to the Sun.

07:59Let's hope by that time, we will already be living on other distant planets.

08:08That's it for today.

08:09So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

08:14Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side.

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