Editing 2135: M87 Black Hole Size Comparison
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This comic shows the picture of the {{w|Messier_87#Supermassive black hole|M87 black hole}} by the {{w|Event Horizon Telescope}} that was published on the same day as this comic. Overlaid on the picture is a scale image of the Solar System, showing the Sun, Pluto (one of the most well-known {{w|dwarf planet}}s) and its orbital path, and {{w|Voyager 1}}, a deep-space probe and the current farthest probe from Earth. The comic is quite similar to [[1551: Pluto]], in which Randall overlaid annotations onto the recently-released first images of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. | This comic shows the picture of the {{w|Messier_87#Supermassive black hole|M87 black hole}} by the {{w|Event Horizon Telescope}} that was published on the same day as this comic. Overlaid on the picture is a scale image of the Solar System, showing the Sun, Pluto (one of the most well-known {{w|dwarf planet}}s) and its orbital path, and {{w|Voyager 1}}, a deep-space probe and the current farthest probe from Earth. The comic is quite similar to [[1551: Pluto]], in which Randall overlaid annotations onto the recently-released first images of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft. | ||
| β | The point of the comic is to celebrate the release of this image by the Event Horizon Telescope, referenced | + | The point of the comic is to celebrate the release of this image by the Event Horizon Telescope, referenced [[2133|two comics prior]], as well as to indicate the hugeness of M87 and the awe-inspiring thing that space is. This image has been widely publicized as being the first image ever of a black hole. Science had no visual evidence of black holes at all [https://www.space.com/16411-black-hole-photo-nasa-telescope.html until 2012]. |
In the title text Randall hypothesizes that if the Sun were at the center of M87, Voyager would be outside the event horizon. This is confirmed by a 2015 [https://arxiv.org/abs/1505.03545 study] in which the Schwartzchild radius of M87* was found to be 5.9x10^-4 pc, as opposed to the distance of 7.04x10^-4 pc, at the time the comic was written, between Voyager 1 and the Sun. | In the title text Randall hypothesizes that if the Sun were at the center of M87, Voyager would be outside the event horizon. This is confirmed by a 2015 [https://arxiv.org/abs/1505.03545 study] in which the Schwartzchild radius of M87* was found to be 5.9x10^-4 pc, as opposed to the distance of 7.04x10^-4 pc, at the time the comic was written, between Voyager 1 and the Sun. | ||
