Black holes discovered billions of times larger than the sun

[phee]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/black-hole-scientists-discover-huge_n_1129727.html

One of the newly detected black holes is 9.7 billion times the size of the sun. The second, slightly farther from Earth, is as big or even bigger.

[Slogo]

bigger? Or more massive?

[Vater Araignee]

bigger? Or more massive?

Unfortunately many of today's scientists think we are so stupid as to think the words are synonyms. Of course it may just be them, after all many of them think theory means fact.

[candyman]

But LHC will prove space wrong once and for all by creating the biggest one right here on earth! Take that giant vacuum full of random shit!

[Vater Araignee]

A team led by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered the two gigantic black holes in clusters of elliptical galaxies more than 300 million light years away. That's relatively close on the galactic scale.

AT the very least I am calling bullshit on the reporter. The article sounds like some dweeb overheard parts of a conversation.

According to NASA, the Milky Way is a relatively large galaxy at 100,000-120,000 light years in diameter and 1,000 to 3,000 light years thick.

From A NASA page:

Most of the galaxies in the universe are actually smaller than the Milky Way. For example, most of the dozens of galaxies in our Local Group are at least ten times smaller in diameter.

So only if you accept the Milky Way as the norm, 3,000,000 light years is relatively close on a galactic scale, but it is not the norm meaning that these galaxies are only relatively close on a universal scale.

Then you have "The second, slightly farther from Earth, is as big or even bigger."

What? They don't know? They spewed before knowing so that if it turns out that it is smaller the general public will never know? Like most people still believe that we have bacterial fossils from Mars tho it was quietly admitted to be untrue? Right beck to the "Reporter is an idiot" theory.

But one thing from Ma bugged me the most.

Ma said that's the million-dollar question: How big can a black hole grow?

Oh so now you are picking and choosing what parts are of GTR are fact and what is merely speculation or theory? Many NASA scientists claim to know the size of the universe because they claim to see half of it (by their own numbers this is bull shit too¹) so can infer the size. That means that they should be able to do the math and figure out all of that matter compressed into a single Singularity, but that takes us to another theory that claims it will eventually become so small that it explodes. Leading us to...

Isn't that completely pointless knowledge and why are we wasting tax dollars for its speculation especially during a depression?

It is exactly like spending tax dollars on a priest trying to find the physical location of Yahweh.

Better stop before I go into a welcome to the Technotheocracy rant.

[phee]

You know... strangely enough.... I didn't know that astronomy articles were all that controversial/political..... odd how that can happen with almost any topic.

Edited December 6, 2011 by phee

[Vater Araignee]

Learn something every day eh?

[phee]

Learn something every day eh?

yeah... but probably not what you wanted me to.

[Vater Araignee]

yeah... but probably not what you wanted me to.

I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from about the reporters inability to accurately use the language he most likely claims to be his primary.

Oh and we also haven't argued about this topic and I fail to see how we can unless logic gets thrown out.

[phee]

I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from about the reporters inability to accurately use the language he most likely claims to be his primary.

Oh and we also haven't argued about this topic and I fail to see how we can unless logic gets thrown out.

ROFL

Yes.. they dumbed it down a lot.

I suppose I am always for the funding of scientific discovery.

[Vater Araignee]

ROFL

Yes.. they dumbed it down a lot.

I suppose I am always for the funding of scientific discovery.

I'm 100% for discovery too. I just happen to think that 100% of all public funding should be directed towards more tangible information.

What is more important, knowing that the radial velocity of Sirius is −7.6[2] km/s or knowing the best spot on Mars to land?

[Fierce Critter]

What is more important, knowing that the radial velocity of Sirius is −7.6[2] km/s or knowing the best spot on Mars to land?

I know I like cupcakes!

[Vater Araignee]

I know I like cupcakes!

That is one frighting pastry.

Kinda looks like dingle berries and a pokemon before they get wiped away.