What Do You Call a Bunch of Black Holes? (nytimes.com) 155
What do you call a collection of black holes? The question has taken on an urgency among astronomers inspired by the recent news of dozens of black holes buzzing around the center of a nearby cluster of stars. The New York Times: In the last few years, instruments like the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors have recorded space-time vibrations from the collisions of black holes, making it clear beyond doubt that these monstrous concentrations of nothingness not only exist but are ubiquitous. Astronomers anticipate spotting a great number of these Einsteinian creatures when the next generation of gravitational-wave antennas are deployed. What will they call them? There are gaggles of geese, pods of whales and murders of crows. What term would do justice to the special nature of black holes? A mass? A colander? A scream?
Jocelyn Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, an astrophysicist at Vanderbilt University, and colleagues are developing an international project called the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA, that will be able to detect collisions between all sizes of black holes throughout the universe. She was trying to run a Zoom meeting of the group recently "when one of the members said his daughter was wondering what you call a collective of black holes -- and then the meeting fell apart, with everyone trying to up one another," she said in an email. "Each time I saw a suggestion, I had to stop and giggle like a loon, which egged us all on more." The question was crowdsourced on Twitter recently as part of what NASA has begun calling black hole week (April 12-16). Among the many candidates so far: A crush. A mosh pit. A silence. A speckle. A hive. An enigma. Or a favorite of mine for of its connection to my youth: an Albert Hall of black holes.
Jocelyn Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, an astrophysicist at Vanderbilt University, and colleagues are developing an international project called the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA, that will be able to detect collisions between all sizes of black holes throughout the universe. She was trying to run a Zoom meeting of the group recently "when one of the members said his daughter was wondering what you call a collective of black holes -- and then the meeting fell apart, with everyone trying to up one another," she said in an email. "Each time I saw a suggestion, I had to stop and giggle like a loon, which egged us all on more." The question was crowdsourced on Twitter recently as part of what NASA has begun calling black hole week (April 12-16). Among the many candidates so far: A crush. A mosh pit. A silence. A speckle. A hive. An enigma. Or a favorite of mine for of its connection to my youth: an Albert Hall of black holes.
Hmmm (Score:1)
Sponge
Perforation
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I always called them a swarm (Score:4, Informative)
Re: I always called them a swarm (Score:2)
A dalmation? (Score:4, Interesting)
How about a dalmation?
Congress (Score:5, Funny)
It seems obvious.
Mod parent up. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I was going to suggest a Spectacle, but I prefer a Congress
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Yup, this was my first thought. Because of the density, the inability of even thought to escape away, and the sheer amount of suckage. They come in multiple varieties; the right spinning black hole, the left spinning black hole, the freedom loving black hole, the green black hole, the orange black hole, and the what-do-you-want-me-to-be black hole.
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It works on many levels, without being overtly offensive or sexualized.
A congress of black holes.
Clearly... (Score:2)
...an "Oh Fuck" of black holes.
Re: (Score:2)
What about "Glory holes"?
As black as crows? (Score:2)
A mass-murder of holes.
A sucking... (Score:2)
A clustersuck (Score:5, Funny)
Obligatory... (Score:3)
...yo mama.
Re: (Score:3)
Yo mama so fat, even tachyons cannot escape her.
Re: (Score:2)
A Mother of all Holes?
A boquet. (Score:2)
.
"What Do You Call a Bunch of Black Holes?" (Score:5, Funny)
What Do You Call a Bunch of Black Holes?
The Trump family.
Downmod away!
Re:"What Do You Call a Bunch of Black Holes?" (Score:5, Funny)
The attorneys general and mothers-in-law tell me.. (Score:2)
The answer is RIGHT THERE in the headline (Score:5, Insightful)
Or if you think "bunch" isn't formal enough, just call it a cluster like you do for stars. Am I the only one who wants to kick somebody in the nads every time the topic of different names for groups of things comes up? We've got a few that are entrenched, like flock, school, and pride; but we don't need any more of that crap.
Re: (Score:3)
Agree 100% !
The whole idea of different words for groups of different kinds of things is just asinine and wholly unnecessary. I go one step further though. I refuse to even use flock, school, etc. I have a single generic term for any group of anything that I use all the time -- It's a group of birds, a group of fish, a group of black holes. etc.
Weird? Maybe. But it's my style, and perfectly within the rules of how languages work.
Bungholes. (Score:2)
A-holes? Nope, taken already.
B-holes? Kid-friendly version of above.
Blowholes? Kind of confusing, and whales are offended.
Bungholes? That might work. You're in a world of shit if you ever get near one of these things anyway.
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Bungholes? That might work. You're in a world of shit if you ever get near one of these things anyway.
The Great Cornholio approves!
But only if you have enough TP!
A bunch of black holes is called "a darkness". (Score:2)
I like "pit" (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, the mosh pit one missed it by -><- that much.
I'm also pretty fond of the one I saw elsewhere. A void of black holes. Seems to make sense to me.
Re: (Score:2)
A bunch of black holes is "a void"
A bunch of black holes is definitely something to "a void".
I approve.
Collective Noun of Black Holes (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Ah heck, you beat me to it.
bitch better have my money. (Score:2)
A harem?
a horde of hoes?
A Hawking of Black Holes? (Score:3)
Up until November 2019, one could argue that we would never know because the relevant information would have disappeared into one or more of the black holes. But Penington, et al suggest that the name might squirt out of a wormhole.
Re: (Score:2)
Not bad!
A "Warp" seems to make sense as the term. (Score:2)
A constellation? (Score:2)
I mean it works for satellites.
That would be.... (Score:1)
A "Soundgarden" (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
To bad "Uranus" is already taken (Score:3)
Isn't it the standard answer to astronomical questions that you need a funny answer for?
How about B-Holes? (Score:3)
A "Foramen" (Score:2)
dictionary.com describes it as:
noun, plural foramina [fuh-ram-uh-nuh].
an opening, orifice, or short passage, as in a bone or in the integument of the ovule of a plant.
A Maw (Score:5, Interesting)
https://starwars.fandom.com/wi... [fandom.com]
Kevin J. Anderson figured this one out a quarter century ago.
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As a former black hole physicist, this is the only correct answer.
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As a former black hole physicist, this is the only correct answer.
Former? Did you lose your credentials in an unfortunate smelting accide...oh wait. We're not supposed to know about that black hole...I get it.
Happy 172nd Birthday by the way.
Re: (Score:2)
But you can eat them hole!
Before St. Helens blowed up and ruined the Cowlitz for years I observed people 'smelting' on that river.
I was too young to know why but the occasional adult would take one of the smelt from the net and swallow it whole. I now suspect beer was involved.
If "cluster" isn't good enough... (Score:2)
How about a hootenanny of black holes?
A little word play *and* a movie reference ... (Score:2)
A Pitch of Black Holes.
Do the math, Vern (Score:3)
A multiplicity of singularities.
Re:On second thought... (Score:2)
A modular singularity multiplicity.
(Mumbles something about MSM for short.)
Re: I'd like to add (Score:2)
A division of modular subtractive singularity multiplicties?
Entropically-speaking (for the superset).
A depression. (Score:3)
A depression. As in a depression in space-time from the concentration of gravity pullers.
But if that's too intellectual, how about a suck. A suck of black holes.
A nonstellation. (Score:4, Interesting)
Singularity Casserole (Score:2)
A spaghetti
The answer is obvious: Blackburn (Score:3)
A cluster? (Score:3)
For the thinly-stretched Pastafarians out there (Score:2)
I vote for gaggle (Score:2)
A gaggle of black holes,
My personal favourites (Score:2)
A Gang of Black Holes
A Horde of Black Holes
A Forest of Black Holes
An Abyss (Score:2)
An abyss of black holes.
Or how about a "darkness of black holes".
A gobble of black holes? (Score:2)
Ok ok, one more (Score:2)
Blackholey McBlackholeface (Score:2)
Obligatory for every naming contest for the last 5 years.
Unfortunately, it sounds *extremely* racist this time. :(
A Chandrasekhar (Score:2)
or a Schwarzschild
A "Glory" of course. (Score:2)
Silly question. It's so obvious.
A *bunch*! You call them a *bunch*! (Score:3)
Or maybe a group.
What is this ridiculous obsession with giving a bunch of each thing a different name?
And no, it's not a "murder" of crows eiter! It's .. a bunch.
Re: (Score:2)
And no, it's not a "murder" of crows eiter! It's .. a bunch.
We'll forgive your ignorance because English is not your first language, so in this case you're allowed to look stupid.
Dance of Black Holes (Score:2)
My guess is that "cluster" will win out (as in cluster of stars).
But they're not sitting still.
They are dancing around each other in a complicated manner.
A Dervish (Score:2)
My suggestion... (Score:2)
The name is already there (Score:4, Informative)
Come on nerds ... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Further proof that this sight is losing its nerd status.
And its ability to spell...
Re: (Score:2)
:D
Buster (Score:2)
A cluster of black holes is a buster.
Bailout (Score:2)
A collection of black holes should be called a "bailout".
A devour (Score:2)
A devour of black holes.
Or perhaps a devourment.
Maybe a maw of black holes.
Well... (Score:2)
"What Do You Call a Bunch of Black Holes?"
I'd call it a whorehouse in Harlem.
A scary bunch of holes? (Score:2)
"BET Awards" (Score:2)
Oh wait, that's taken.
Obviously... (Score:2)
A “suckitude” (Score:2)
Constellation: a group of stars dead or alive (Score:2)
Albert Hall? (Score:3)
A warp... (Score:2)
Holy Moley!! (Score:2)
Let's turn around.
What else? (Score:2)
A Hoover (vacuum cleaner) of black holes.
{O,o}
a hole (Score:2)
lot
Call them (Score:2)
A smattering? (Score:2)
Subject says it all I guess. Not a lot as may be the case.
The Aristocrats! (Score:2)
Quoth the Raven (Score:2)
A nevermore.
A budget (Score:2)
A void of black holes (Score:2)
I really like A void of black holes.
Favorite suggestion (Score:2)
My favorite so far is a silence.
You call them a "black hole" (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Good reference, but I do like what TFS mentioned: A scream of black holes.