Black Hole Visualization

[Sisyphus]

Check this out:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/28/science/28prof.html

 

I just have to say, "!"

 

Does anyone have any more info on this? I, personally, had always assumed that black holes were inherently unvisualizable, seeing as how no light would actually reach the eyes (not only that, but the "tearing" of space wouldn't fit into our 3D mental frameworks). Was I mistaken, or am I missing something?

[Royston]

That looks awesome ! Sounds like some very complicated modelling has gone into that. I thought the only way to see a black hole was if it went in the path of another star...providing you were looking at it at exactly the right angle.

 

As for visualizing...I'm sure there's people that could probably do it.

 

The only way I can begin to imagine what one looks like, is thinking of the photoshop pinch effect, but applying it three dimensionally in front of me...so everything caves in to a point...so you need to imagine it happening at every conceivable angle.

 

Then you think of yourself skewing into it as well...because you need to account for space behind - in front and to the sides, and below - bit tricky really...but I'm sure it's possible.

[aguy2]

I liked the 'waterfall' analogy.

aguy2

[anglepose]

you would only see the outline of the black hole. eg the light being sucked into it and it would appear as a "black hole" in the universe

[anglepose]

the trace of a black hole

 

http://www.maths.qmw.ac.uk/Astronomy/images/M87jet.jpg

[RyanJ]

you would only see the outline of the black hole. eg the light being sucked into it and it would appear as a "black hole" in the universe

 

True, there is one other method though - we can see the light then has travelled close to the black hole and thus has been bent. thisis how theybelieve they have found black holes in the wild

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones