The first image of a black hole, using Event Horizon Telescope observations of the centre of the galaxy M87. The image shows a bright ring formed as light bends in the intense gravity around a black hole that is 6.5 billion times more massive than the Sun
Quite amazing.
I think that is known scientifically as “fucking” massive.
My experience has been that I can’t form an imaginable bridge between the world I inhabit and almost any number concerning a black hole. The numbers just remain abstract and, as such, I struggle to get excited about them.
I once went to an hour long talk given by a theoretical astrophysicist on the subject of magnetars and, in particular, on seeing if we could recreate at least something like the environment in a magnetar’s polar region where accreting material is thought to cause characteristic oscillations that we can detect here. He thought we might only need a laser 10 times bigger than the biggest laser on earth to do this. Or maybe 100 times. He was eccentric and we handed him back to his carers at the end of the talk. It had been quite a wild ride though, and that was nowhere near being a black hole.
VB
Plinth material right there
ERG members ancestors found:
New species of ancient human discovered in Philippines cave
I must admit my first thought was of Mark Francois when I saw this.
A uncultured savage under 4 ft tall.
Corbyn’s fault, I’ll guarantee it.
Gravitational waves hint at detection of black hole eating star:
Nice pic of Europa - seems the yellow you can see is table salt. Article suggests this has implications for the sea thought to be under the ice. It may be closer to our oceans than previously thought. Fish and Chips anyone
Hope there isn’t too much of it. The clue about the Dead Sea is in the name.
VB
I wonder what happened to it after the portrait was finished.
Smashed by a thrush and eaten for breakfast?
I was reading a thing earlier about an incredibly high speed camera… I mean INCREDIBLY. It allows you to see light move. Actual light, actually moving.
What the fuck makes light move? Just so many questions.
Do that physics degree you were on about a while back and you might understand.
Then you can tell us. Something about quantums I bet.
That’s well remembered. I really should pull my finger out. Good job I’m not a bit of light… you wouldn’t need a high speed camera to catch me.
It must capture a movie (in a sense) of the light at full speed and then slow it down enormously for replay. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to see it any more than we can see a bullet go past, unless we slow the movie of the bullet down
If you want to make a movie of a single light pulse then you usually have to convert the light to an electrical signal to capture it (I used to work a bit with streak cameras).
If you have repetitive pulses of light then you can use the equivalent of strobe techniques to ‘slow down’ their effective motion. One variation of these, used for the very fastest measurements, is to split the light into two beams and then to use them to look at each other. This is called autocorrelation. You do need a clear head to grasp how this works though.
VB