Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer by beowulfoflegend

View this thread on steempeak.com
· @beowulfoflegend · (edited)
$73.18
Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer
### For everyone who's worried about the outcome of the US election this week, here's something else to worry about instead.

Astrophysics tells us that just about every galaxy in the universe has a supermassive black hole at its center. Sometimes, though, you get a situation where one galaxy merges with another one, and the black hole leftover from the smaller galaxy ends up settling into an uneasy truce with the larger one as they end up in a binary orbit. 

But what if the black hole of a smaller galaxy didn't end up stuck? What if, through some combination of orbit and speed, a supermassive black hole and a small halo of its closest stars shot free of the grip of a larger galaxy, flying off into space? What happens then?

### Team Rocket, Blasting Off at the Speed of Light!
<center>http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b225/beowulfoflegend/nrao16df02a_nrao_zpse7yoq7xd.jpg
<a href="https://public.nrao.edu/news/pressreleases/nearly-naked-supermassive-black-hole">Source</a></center>

Well that's what some intrepid folks at the <a href="https://public.nrao.edu/news/pressreleases/nearly-naked-supermassive-black-hole">National Radio Astronomy Observatory</a> just announced they've found: a supermassive black hole, classified as **B3 1715+425**, fleeing at a speed of 2,000 miles per second with whatever it could hold on to as it departs the ZwCl 8193 galactic cluster.

This little galactic remnant is teeny - we're talking a shadow of its former self. With the supermassive black hole at the center of a typical galaxy (like the Milky Way for example) is in the center of a cloud of stars around 100,000 light years across, this stripped-down, nearly-naked black hole has a shadow of a galaxy of only 3,000 light years across surrounding it. 

There's so little in the way of stellar material that astronomers say this halo of stars around the black hole will eventually burn themselves out without creating any new stars. With no stellar material to fall into the black hole, there'll be no visible accretion disk, no event horizon - the black hole becomes completely invisible.

### Silent, Deadly, and Invisible - like a Dog's Fart
<center><img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b225/beowulfoflegend/5573033733_c8c0a602e1_b_zps9xy7b4jt.jpg">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/achew/5573033733">Source</a></center>

Yes, you read that right - it's going to become an invisible, inescapable engine of astrophysical death and destruction, hurtling through the universe at 2,000 miles a second and utterly demolishing anything within reach of its tidal forces for eternity. Or until George RR Martin finally finishes writing *A Song of Ice and Fire*, whichever comes first.

This roving supermassive killer isn't much of a threat to us, of course. Since it hasn't eaten itself out of house and home yet, it's still detectable. It's also not heading towards Earth like a massive invisible Pac-Man and we're the next pellet in his path. Of course even if we were slated to become Pac-Man food, we would have something like 3 billion years to move out of the way.

No, what you should be more concerned about is that there could be other naked, invisible rampaging stealth killer supermassive black holes out there that have already gone dark. Let's face it: if it's already happened once, the universe is a large enough place that the odds are high it can happen again - or has already happened in the past.

So hey, don't worry! If your candidate of choice ends up losing the election on Tuesday, you can at least know that it's not as bad as being devoured by a giant, unexpected black hole that no one can see coming. Conversely, you can start praying for one to come by. Just don't hold your breath.

<em><h3>Edit: Looking for the original research paper that goes into the findings in detail? @lemouth found it <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04067">here.</a></h3></em>


-----------------------------
<center><h1>Like what you've read? Don't forget to upvote and resteem!</center></h1>

<center>https://storage.googleapis.com/steemimgimgs/2016/10/15/beowulfoflegend355c8.png</center>
👍  , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and 283 others
properties (23)
post_id1,309,910
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkmeet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer
categorynews
json_metadata"{"format": "markdown", "links": ["https://public.nrao.edu/news/pressreleases/nearly-naked-supermassive-black-hole", "https://www.flickr.com/photos/achew/5573033733", "https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04067"], "app": "steemit/0.1", "tags": ["news", "astronomy", "astrophysics", "black-holes", "science"], "users": ["lemouth"], "image": ["http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b225/beowulfoflegend/nrao16df02a_nrao_zpse7yoq7xd.jpg"]}"
created2016-11-07 00:54:48
last_update2016-11-07 06:11:12
depth0
children23
net_rshares101,466,069,246,838
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value55.938 SBD
curator_payout_value17.241 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length4,116
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (347)
@cognoscere ·
I guess it would make one heck of a quick milky way milkshake out of us!
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id1,309,927
authorcognoscere
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t010012527z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 01:00:12
last_update2016-11-07 01:00:12
depth1
children1
net_rshares40,639,313,089
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length72
author_reputation66,069,344,800,759
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@beowulfoflegend ·
I can think of less exciting ways to die. Like, every single one ever.
properties (22)
post_id1,309,976
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-cognoscere-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t011917013z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 01:19:18
last_update2016-11-07 01:19:18
depth2
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length70
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@armen ·
Nice post.
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,309,979
authorarmen
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t012124483z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 01:21:27
last_update2016-11-07 01:21:27
depth1
children3
net_rshares39,908,553,663
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length10
author_reputation67,955,126,024,974
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@beowulfoflegend ·
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,309,988
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-armen-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t012326691z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 01:23:27
last_update2016-11-07 01:23:27
depth2
children2
net_rshares15,673,983,930
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length32
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@armen ·
I love reading about black holes, dark matter and dark energy. There is very little about it out there. Resteemed!!!
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,310,006
authorarmen
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-re-armen-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t012904973z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 01:29:06
last_update2016-11-07 01:29:06
depth3
children1
net_rshares39,094,115,933
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length116
author_reputation67,955,126,024,974
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@better ·
Hello @beowulfoflegend,

It gives us pleasure to inform you that this post have been upvoted by Project Better.

The Mission of Project Better is to reward posts have many votes from Minnows but earn pennies. 
Your payout is $0.007 before we vote on your post.

Learn more about the [Project Better here!](https://steemit.com/robots/@better/better-07-11-2016) ,
Want to donate your voting power to support Project Better and earn curation rewards? [Click Here!](https://steemstreet.com/)

We hope to see you continuing to post some great stuff on Steemit!

Good luck!

~BETTER~
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,309,992
authorbetter
permlinkre-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer
categorynews
json_metadata{}
created2016-11-07 01:24:00
last_update2016-11-07 01:24:00
depth1
children1
net_rshares39,094,115,933
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length577
author_reputation15,727,752,514,706
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@beowulfoflegend ·
Thank you! Once again I'm honored to be included in Project Better.
properties (22)
post_id1,310,045
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-better-re-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t014625017z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 01:46:24
last_update2016-11-07 01:46:24
depth2
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length67
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@everittdmickey ·
Interesting.
However...color me skeptical.
Interesting none the less.
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id1,310,215
authoreverittdmickey
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t024255070z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 02:42:54
last_update2016-11-07 02:42:54
depth1
children4
net_rshares54,307,213,061
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length69
author_reputation235,625,463,700,046
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@beowulfoflegend ·
Well I'm reasonably sure that we'd be able to track otherwise-invisible black holes when radiotelescope data comes back and there's big gaps in it because it's blocking RF emissions. Or however you can detect black holes without having to rely on visible light wavelengths. Hell I don't know, I'm pretty much just making shit up as I go along.
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id1,310,290
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-everittdmickey-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t031515770z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 03:15:15
last_update2016-11-07 03:15:15
depth2
children3
net_rshares15,943,743,829
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length343
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@everittdmickey ·
I remain unconvinced that blackholes exist.
properties (22)
post_id1,310,294
authoreverittdmickey
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-re-everittdmickey-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t031556537z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 03:15:57
last_update2016-11-07 03:15:57
depth3
children2
net_rshares0
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length43
author_reputation235,625,463,700,046
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@anotherjoe ·
I think I'd take the rogue black hole over this election cycle...
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id1,310,557
authoranotherjoe
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t042313528z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 04:23:18
last_update2016-11-07 04:23:18
depth1
children1
net_rshares39,011,882,311
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length65
author_reputation40,323,252,521,113
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@beowulfoflegend ·
Yeah I'll take my chances with a giant, inescapable gravity pit, too.
👍  , ,
properties (23)
post_id1,310,913
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-anotherjoe-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t060746678z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 06:07:48
last_update2016-11-07 06:07:48
depth2
children0
net_rshares7,776,899,539
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length69
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (3)
@lemouth ·
Very interesting! I didn't know about that. I found the original [scientific article](https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04067) behind the news (that is open access on the arxiv). I will read it later today in the train. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

PS: it could be nice to add the link I mention to your post :)
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id1,310,875
authorlemouth
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t055753604z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"links": ["https://arxiv.org/abs/1606.04067"], "tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 05:57:54
last_update2016-11-07 05:57:54
depth1
children3
net_rshares53,494,107,288
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length318
author_reputation178,283,483,453,967
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@beowulfoflegend ·
Hey, great find! I didn't realize the press release I linked didn't have a link to the article itself. I'm totally adding it in.
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,310,917
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-lemouth-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t060923656z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 06:09:24
last_update2016-11-07 06:09:24
depth2
children2
net_rshares15,212,984,403
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length128
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@lemouth ·
I was also looking for it. Maybe are they waiting for the published version to be available or they made a mistake in my opinion as the sources should always be cited...
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,311,293
authorlemouth
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-re-lemouth-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t082459592z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 08:25:09
last_update2016-11-07 08:25:09
depth3
children1
net_rshares38,282,962,894
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length169
author_reputation178,283,483,453,967
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@steemstem ·
<center>
http://oi63.tinypic.com/20ky92v.jpg
<sub>[Join us on #steemSTEM](https://steemit.chat/channel/steemSTEM)</sub>
</center>

Very interesting post about some events in the universe of a new type. Black holes are really getting popular those days :)
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id1,314,466
authorsteemstem
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161107t204820942z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"links": ["https://steemit.chat/channel/steemSTEM"], "image": ["http://oi63.tinypic.com/20ky92v.jpg"], "tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-07 20:48:18
last_update2016-11-07 20:48:18
depth1
children1
net_rshares153,056,070,239
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length254
author_reputation229,673,617,633,863
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@anarchyhasnogods ·
Nice to see this account being used lol
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,320,615
authoranarchyhasnogods
permlinkre-steemstem-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161108t032035531z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-08 03:20:42
last_update2016-11-08 03:20:42
depth2
children0
net_rshares58,169,756
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length39
author_reputation61,344,803,233,405
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@igormuba ·
" like a Dog's Fart" LOL
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,318,165
authorigormuba
permlinkre-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161108t012036070z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-08 01:20:36
last_update2016-11-08 01:20:36
depth1
children1
net_rshares38,335,028,904
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length24
author_reputation79,636,306,810,404
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@beowulfoflegend ·
I see you're a fellow pet owner. ;)
👍  
properties (23)
post_id1,319,580
authorbeowulfoflegend
permlinkre-igormuba-re-beowulfoflegend-meet-the-naked-black-hole-an-invisible-rampaging-stealth-killer-20161108t022915320z
categorynews
json_metadata"{"tags": ["news"]}"
created2016-11-08 02:29:18
last_update2016-11-08 02:29:18
depth2
children0
net_rshares573,067,540
last_payout2016-12-08 09:43:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length35
author_reputation28,914,195,365,796
root_title"Meet the naked black hole - an invisible, rampaging stealth killer"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)