Arizona State University (ASU) PHY101 Introduction to Physics Practice Exam

As an object approaches a black hole, the observer's perception of time for that object appears to slow down due to the effects of gravitational time dilation, a prediction of Einstein's theory of general relativity. This phenomenon occurs because the strong gravitational field produced by the black hole significantly affects the flow of time relative to observers at a greater distance from it.

To an outside observer, as the object gets closer to the event horizon—the point beyond which nothing can escape the black hole's gravitational pull—it seems to move more slowly and takes longer to reach that boundary. This effect is a direct consequence of the warping of spacetime caused by the black hole's immense mass. The closer the object gets to the singularity at the center, the more pronounced this time dilation becomes.

Thus, while the object itself experiences time normally, for those watching from a distance, the passage of time for the object appears to stretch out or slow down, leading to the conclusion that time perception for that object diminishes as it nears a black hole.