'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
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Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#2Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#3Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
Yes, and it’s absolutely terrifying. I know at that point I wouldn’t feel anything but it’s depressing to know that everything you have, and will ever know, could be destroyed in an instant.
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#4Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
Yes, and it’s absolutely terrifying. I know at that point I wouldn’t feel anything but it’s depressing to know that everything you have, and will ever know, could be destroyed in an instant.
Do not despair, in all likelihood you're just a Boltzmann brain anyway.
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#5Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
I think (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that all we really need is our sun, and to not be swallowed in a black hole or something. Eg. if we lost our own black hole, or a hole got punched in our galaxy (not where we are), or our solar system got slung out of the galaxy (intact)- we'd be fine, right?
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#6Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
Elon Musk has organized his entire business empire around that fear. (Or at least the parts of his empire that were deliberate.)
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#7Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
I think (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that all we really need is our sun, and to not be swallowed in a black hole or something. Eg. if we lost our own black hole, or a hole got punched in our galaxy (not where we are), or our solar system got slung out of the galaxy (intact)- we'd be fine, right?
There are other interstellar objects like comets, asteroids, planets, and dwarf stars roaming around that could take us out at any moment, directly or indirectly. A blackhole isn't much different than any of those in terms of consequence. The same process that would fling a blackhole around can fling anything around, and in theory primordial blackholes could be as small as most of those other objects.
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that all we really need is our sun, and to not be swallowed in a black hole or something. Eg. if we lost our own black hole, or a hole got punched in our galaxy (not where we are), or our solar system got slung out of the galaxy (intact)- we'd be fine, right?
There are other interstellar objects like comets, asteroids, planets, and dwarf stars roaming around that could take us out at any moment, directly or indirectly. A blackhole isn't much different than any of those in terms of consequence. The same process that would fling a blackhole around can fling anything around, and in theory primordial blackholes could be as small as most of those other objects.
Is there a chance that there's something out there so fast that we wouldn't see it coming early enough, and big enough to significantly impact us?
Like 2023 BU earlier this year that almost hit us less than a week after discovery.
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are other interstellar objects like comets, asteroids, planets, and dwarf stars roaming around that could take us out at any moment, directly or indirectly. A blackhole isn't much different than any of those in terms of consequence. The same process that would fling a blackhole around can fling anything around, and in theory primordial blackholes could be as small as most of those other objects.
Is there a chance that there's something out there so fast that we wouldn't see it coming early enough, and big enough to significantly impact us? Like 2023 BU earlier this year that almost hit us less than a week after discovery.
Yes it's one of the most significant existential threats to life on earth. Probably #2 after self-inflicted environmental destruction.
Re: 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20M suns found speeding through space
#10Does anyone else ever think about some unseen space monstrosity taking us out in the blink of an eye?
There is a much higher probability that some human monstrosity will be taking you out in the blink of an eye.