Observing a mass forever approaching a BH, and BH growth

In summary, the event horizon of a black hole prevents an observer from ever seeing an object cross it. Instead, the infalling mass "smears" over the imaginary surface of the event horizon. However, this does not prevent a black hole from growing in mass and size, as observed in super-massive black holes at galactic centers. This growth is due to the black hole "consuming" surrounding matter over billions of years. Although an observer would never see the actual crossing of the event horizon, the effect of the infalling mass can still be observed through an increase in the black hole's mass. This is because the event horizon's position is determined by the entire history of spacetime, and the black hole grows as energy
  • #36
stefanbanev said:
If I can not acquire information in principle about some events such events can not be qualified as "observables" yet

You're not the only observer in the universe. An observer who falls into the black hole can see events behind the horizon just fine.
 
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  • #37
The OP question has been answered. Thread closed.
 

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