Creating 'Interstellar's' black hole blended visual effects with real physics models

The science behind the movie 'Interstellar'

Christopher Nolan's 2014 sci-fi action film "Interstellar" relies on real science for its wild space-time travel. This infographic dives into the physics basis of the fictionalized Gargantua black hole, the relativity effect, and more.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains wormholes and black holes

Much of the film Interstellar is centered on the existence of a wormhole and black hole, which happen to be two of the most perplexing things in the universe. Astrophysicist and StarTalk Radio host Neil deGrasse Tyson explains how wormholes and black holes work in real life in this two-minute video.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Experimenting with space-time

Einstein's theory of general relativity—that mass literally bends space and time—can be difficult for the human brain to imagine. This interactive resource lets you create celestial objects, imagine their effect on space-time, and see how they interact with each other (best viewed on desktop).

Albert Einstein's equations predicted black holes decades before their discovery

For nearly 50 years, scientists dismissed black holes as implausible oddities, despite solutions to the equations indicating their existence. But the 1970s discovery of intense X-rays from Cygnus X-1 and its massive hidden companion flipped the consensus.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Attempts to 'fix' black hole physics have led scientists to theorize new types

Along with their spin and charge, mass is used to categorize black holes as supermassive, intermediate, or stellar-mass. However, ongoing research suggests various additional types may exist, including primordials that formed one second into the universe's birth, fuzzballs—tangles of vibrating strings—and gravastars, which have a shell of dense matter around repulsive vacuum energy.

Colorizers convert Hubble's gray scale images into color composites of different wavelengths

The near-infrared and ultraviolet light captured by the space telescope is not visible to human eyes, but observational data of these types of light can be filtered and modified into visible colors. Many detailed images of astronomical objects are the result of combining these artificially colored images into layers.

Scientists are experimenting with ways to probe the multiverse theory

Researchers are simulating vacuum bubbles—the theorized starting points of universes—using quantum computers, digital models, and exotic lab setups to study how they form, expand, and possibly collide. One experiment aims to "blow" artificial universe-like bubbles inside ultra-cold quantum gases, potentially capturing real-time glimpses of cosmic birth processes in a lab.

Blurriness in the James Webb Space Telescope's infrared imaging was fixed by AI

Australian researchers developed the Aperture Masking Interferometry Generative Observations AI algorithm to sharpen images affected by electronic distortions in the JWST's Aperture Masking Interferometer.

How Robert Oppenheimer determined when neutron stars become black holes

Building on the work of Richard Tolman and George Volkoff, Oppenheimer reasoned that, once massive enough, a hypothetical, star-sized atomic nucleus would be unable to stave off gravitational collapse with neutron degeneracy—quantum pressure—alone. The mathematical model estimated the maximum mass of a non-rotating neutron star, known as the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit.

Watch the director's cut of the award-winning documentary about LIGO

Production on the film began in August 2015, shortly before the facilities detected gravitational waves for the first time on September 14. Those interviewed, including future Nobel Laureates Kip Thorne and Barry Barish, provide their accounts of the discovery as events unfold in real time.

Watch an artist's impression of two neutron stars merging in a kilonova explosion

Such an event produces enough light to briefly outshine an entire galaxy and to produce characteristic gravitational wave and gamma-ray signals. On August 17, 2017, these signals were captured by the LIGO–Virgo and Fermi/INTEGRAL observatories, respectively, from a kilonova about 130 million light-years away.

Collisions between cosmic rays and atmospheric particles dwarf particle accelerators

According to Einstein's model of gravity, confining immense energy into a sufficiently small region would warp space-time enough to create a black hole. If accelerators actually did create black holes, then trillions more would be produced daily in the atmosphere, where collisions are millions of times more energetic.

Watch a tour of a 3D visualization of the Pillars of Creation

Combining observational data from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes has allowed NASA scientists to create a multiwavelength model of the star-forming region at the heart of the Eagle nebula.

New model replaces the Milky Way's central black hole with dark matter

A study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society states that a dense core of fermionic dark matter, rather than a supermassive black hole, could explain both the rapid orbits of stars near the Milky Way's center and the galaxy's large-scale rotation detected in Gaia mission data.

The Big Bang became physically plausible thanks to Stephen Hawking’s thesis

Stephen Hawking's PhD thesis mathematically showed that singularities—points of no volume and infinite density—are an expected feature of nature. It laid the theoretical groundwork for a model of the universe where everything originates from a single point.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Scientists have tested atmospheric models by firing rockets into the aurora borealis

Functioning like components of a CT scan, the missiles transmit signals that can be used to identify charged particles and electromagnetic currents in slices. The slices are then combined to construct a computer-based model of Earth's atmospheric structure, which is used to compare the accuracy of physics-based models.

See how distant aliens could preemptively strike humanity

Could aliens destroy us from light-years away? The team at Kurzgesagt imagines the impact of a highly sophisticated alien civilization setting out to crush humanity and considers the real-world logistics for warfare conducted across the Universe.

Supermassive black holes create pressure waves, detectable as extremely low sounds

Space is largely silent because it lacks a medium for sound waves. Some Mars rovers capture sounds of wind, though the sounds are too low to hear. Through sonification, astronomical data can be translated into hearable sounds for broader engagement.

Mixed reality technology helped make repairs to a quantum physics facility in space

In 2021, astronaut Megan McArthur used a HoloLens to work alongside Earth-based engineers and make hardware replacements to the International Space Station's Cold Atom Lab, the first quantum science facility in Earth orbit. The facility cools atoms to near absolute zero to perform quantum chemistry experiments in a microgravity environment.

The most mysterious (known) star in the universe

Something massive, with roughly 1,000 times the area of Earth, is blocking the light coming from a distant star known as KIC 8462852. One of astronomers' more intriguing theories: Alien technology. Discovered via NASA's Kepler space telescope and a...

Nvidia Omniverse can be used to accelerate 3D workflows and explore creative ideas

This video explores different apps available within Nvidia Omniverse that artists can use to create cinematic, virtual worlds. Some of the tools are AI-powered, like a feature that converts spoken audio into a video of a character speaking.

Through gravitational redshift, light loses energy as it leaves a massive object

Just as one becomes exhausted as they walk up a flight of stairs against gravity, light is predicted to lose energy as it travels out of a gravitational well created by an object warping spacetime. This is observable through a decrease in the frequency of light toward longer, redder wavelengths.

'Special effects' have evolved alongside Hollywood

Since the early days of moviemaking, directors have played with perspective to create incredible effects on the screen. From Buster Keaton to contemporary CGI, this 30-minute documentary details the amazing evolution of Hollywood's special effects.

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Neutron stars, the remains of some massive stars after they explode in a supernova, are the densest directly observable objects in the universe.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

In 1945, Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí and legendary animator Walt Disney began collaborating on a short film that was not completed until 2003, years after both men had died.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.