Simulation shows how terrifying falling into a black hole would be

The concept of black holes has never really stopped blowing our minds, conjuring images of vast, mysterious entities swirling in space and swallowing up everything in their wake.

While the likelihood of us ever encountering a black hole is pretty slim, you’d still be intrigued to know what it might be like to fall into one - right?

If so, you’re in luck. A realistic simulator has been doing the rounds online and it offers a realistic glimpse into what being sucked into one might feel like. Be warned, though, it's rather intense.

The simulator depicts the experience as akin to the disorienting sensation of losing consciousness, either from illness - or perhaps a few too many beers.

As you're drawn into the black hole, the surrounding space appears to expand, creating an ever-growing void. Gradually, the edges of this enigmatic entity blur and fade, leaving you enveloped in complete darkness.

It all feels a bit heavy, and leaves us with a few questions: what exactly is a black hole and why would they cause this sensation?

According to NASA, a black hole is a region in space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. Essentially, encountering a black hole during space exploration would spell certain doom.

Interestingly, black holes are not all the same size. They can range dramatically, with the smallest being about the size of an atom.

Even if it's not going to happen to us anytime soon, the black hole simulator sparked a lively discussion on YouTube.

Viewers expressed a range of reactions, from humor to existential dread.

“Big thanks for the cameraman who throw himself into the black hole to get us this footage,” one joked.

"Ah yes, watching this during an existential crisis in the middle of the night was a great idea!" added a second, while a third wrote: "This made me feel something I’ve never felt before. The mixture of terror solitude and sadness is unmatched."

A fourth revealed: "I watched this with my VR headset I was looking at the stars and I turned around about two minutes in. That was the loudest 'holy sh*t' of my life."

Despite how slim the odds of falling into a black hole are, a fifth wrote: "That's my number one fear.

"The last footage was one of the scariest [things] I've ever seen. While the simulation was getting close to the black hole I felt my anxiety rising, I don't know why. It's like an existential fear."

Cappan / Getty Images

It might seem pretty scary, but NASA says it's impossible for the Earth to get swallowed up by a black hole.

Plus, scientists recently suggested that it might actually be possible to survive a black hole and the eventual process of 'spaghettification' (yes, it’s really called that) that happens to anything that falls into one.

In case you’re wondering, spaghettification refers to how the gravity in a black hole is so strong that an object which approaches one is stretched out as the force becomes exponentially stronger the closer you get, even between one end of you and the other.

The result is that you would be stretched out like a noodle - which doesn't sound particularly pleasant.

If you wanted to survive, the key is to not to get past the black hole's 'event horizon'. Past that point, there's nothing you can really do - but if you're caught in the outskirts of its gravitational field, you might be able to pull away.

Dr Jakob van den Eijnden from the University of Warwick explained: "The difference between being captured by the gravity of the black hole and falling into it is like being on a river with a waterfall.

"If you are on the river, you are captured and moving towards the waterfall, but if you paddle fast enough, you can escape to the riverbank."