Black Hole's "Point of No Return" Found 130
dsinc writes "Using a continent-spanning telescope, an international team of astronomers has peered to the edge of a black hole at the center of a distant galaxy. For the first time, they have measured the black hole's 'point of no return' — the closest distance that matter can approach before being irretrievably pulled into the black hole. According to Einstein's theory of general relativity, a black hole's mass and spin determine how close material can orbit before becoming unstable and falling in toward the event horizon. The team was able to measure this innermost stable orbit and found that it's only 5.5 times the size of the black hole's event horizon. This size suggests that the accretion disk is spinning in the same direction as the black hole. The observations were made by linking together radio telescopes in Hawaii, Arizona, and California to create a virtual telescope called the Event Horizon Telescope, or EHT. The EHT is capable of seeing details 2,000 times finer than the Hubble Space Telescope."
Re:Editors (Score:5, Funny)
What in the name of everything you hold holy were you thinking when posting this?
This is Slashdot. They hold plaintext holy.
Re:Editors (Score:5, Funny)
What in the name of everything you hold holy were you thinking when posting this?
I think you meant to say:
What in 'http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/10/the-name-of-everything-you-hold-holy-were-you-thinking/the name of everything you hold holy' were you thinking when posting this?
Re:Starship fate (Score:5, Funny)
Imagine you are on a starship and have to pass near a black hole.
You read up the facts from the books and set your course.
5.5 times the size of the black hole's event horizon seems rather risky.
I would take 3 times the suggested distance to pass safely.
I'll keep that in mind next time I pilot my starship past one.
Re:Unstable? (Score:5, Funny)
Anyone versed in GTR here to help?
When the heart rules the mind
One look and love is blind
When you want the dream to last
Take a chance forget the past
Seasons will change
You must move on
Follow your dream
Re:Editors (Score:3, Funny)
I was thinking the black hole sucked the HTML tags out of the original post.
Re:If U gaze long into an abyss,it gazes back upon (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I thought they were both the same. (Score:2, Funny)
here are some movies of orbiting a back hole.
I've been on the Internet long enough to know not to click THAT link.
Re:That link cleaned up (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah I bet non clickable links are a major problem when you're forced to work as a slave labourer underground for Kali cultists until their high priest tears your heart out in a savage ceremony.