If Black Holes Can Swallow Whole Planets And Stars, Does Anyone Know Where The Planets & Stars Go?
Black Holes can “swallow” any matter that gets too close to them. Any stars or planets that get close to a black hole whose mass is much greater than the star or planet will get ripped apart by tidal forces before being “swallowed”. They won’t just get “swallowed whole”. Once inside the black hole, the mass of the “swallowed” object is pulled into the singularity at the center of the black hole. At that point, the former star or planet’s matter is part of the mass of the black hole, is no longer distinguishable from the black hole or the singularity, and adds somewhat to the diameter and gravitational pull of the black hole. 1st edit: There is little doubt left that black holes do exist. Observational evidence of potential black hole candidates, including those in the center of galaxies, is so overwhelming and so in line with the theoretical predictions that it is safe to base further work and study on the premise that they do exist. 2nd edit: Despite what Hawking may think about other
