Or, as some in the astrophysics set like to call it, the event horizon. What's an "event horizon"? No, it's not just a terrible movie starring Dr. Grant. (Sometimes also referred by his real name, Sam Neill.) Well, when it comes to black holes, it's the line in the sand...er, stars...where once you cross over you're going to get sucked into the black hole. Yup, it can't be helped. You're totally, utterly, screwed.
"But Ashley, what's the deal with black holes, and why don't I want to get sucked into one? Won't I just get transported to some new and far away cosmos, where really hot green-skinned alien chicks are the norm?" Sadly, that is not the most likely outcome. Odds are that once you get sucked into that black hole, you're going to become cosmic pulp. As described by Brian Greene in his book The Elegant Universe,
"[I]f you dropped feet first through the event horizon, as you approached the black hole's center you would find yourself getting increasingly uncomfortable. The gravitational force of the black hole would increase so dramatically that its pull on your feet would be much stronger that its pull on your head (since in a feet-first fall your feet are always a bit closer than your head to the black hole's center); so much stronger, in fact, that you be stretched with a force that would quickly tear your body to shreds."
The good news is that Mr. Brian Greene was not kidding when he described the shredding speed as quick. Apparently, you get shredded so fast that your poor little nerves don't have enough time to scream to your brain, "Holy crap, we're being shredded to bits. There are no hot green alien chicks. It was all a lie!"
All in all, I feel we've learned a very valuable lesson here. DON'T cross the event horizon. ("Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.")
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