Whats the closest distance you could get to a black hole before getting sucked in? Is it the event horizon?

Question

Just out of curiosity again?

Answer 1

two points.

1) if the black hole is rotating, there is a much higher limit you can't approach

2) long before you get close, you'd be dead from HARD radiation, as matter is torn apart entering the Black Hole, and even if you had a Star Trek Decoder Ring Phased Array Radiation Shield, you'd STILL be dead from tidal forces.

Answer 2

I'm just relying on memory for this, but I believe there is a "lowest stable orbit" that is somewhat above the event horizon itself.  Also, I don't think there exist unpowered orbital trajectories that come arbitrarily close to the event horizon and then escape to infinity.  In other words, if you want to get close to the event horizon and get out again, you'd better stay a bit further away from the event horizon, or have a powerful rocket that can power you out of the region just above the event horizon, leaving your exhaust to fall into the hole.

Answer 3

that is to say not to go to the radius where there no floating objects in sight since they all already fall into it....lol

Answer 4

Well, technically yes. At the event horizon, it is no longer possible to escape it (because you can't go faster than the speed of light). However, for a human space craft, it is much farther away, because we are not going as nearly as fast.

Answer 5

No, the event horizon is the point where not even the light can escape it. For you, the closest distance is the point, where the local escape velocity is higher than what your spacecraft can produce. If you can't leave the gravity field of the black hole, you are sucked in. It might not absorb you instantly, but you will never leave it and your orbit will slowly loose energy to gravity waves.

Answer 6

You can find out alot about black holes at these two websites below:

http://www.livescience.com/

http://www.space.com/

Answer 7

Anyone who thinks they know the answer to this question are reaching far into speculation or an educated guess at best. No one has been anywhere near a black hole and we cant see them so we don't know much about them other that they are dense, and are prone to cause certain behaviors when matter comes near it. But how near it they don't know. I love science but they are always telling me things that they don't really know much about and claiming it as tested theory. If you went relatively near a black hole (you pick the number of light years) you be up **** creek without a paddle.