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Stairwayunicorn t1_iv3b3p9 wrote

Reply to comment by zuzg in Closest known black hole to Earth spotted by astronomers by lunarmoonr

thats very small for a singularity

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unsanctionedhero t1_iv4v4zn wrote

Looked it up, its Scwartzchild radius is 28km. For reference a sphere of that size would have a surface area just slightly more than that of Puerto Rico

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raidriar889 t1_iv5qyys wrote

Compared to supermassive black holes, yes that is obviously small, but it’s a pretty normal size for a stellar black hole. In fact the smallest stellar remnant that would become a black hole is around 2-3 solar masses, so this black hole is not the smallest possible.

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sorehamstring t1_iv5uiig wrote

For stellar mass black holes, like this one, it’s not small. It’s just normal.

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[deleted] t1_iv3vtsn wrote

[removed]

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jmb2k6 t1_iv3xbc9 wrote

Black holes have dimensions though right? The diameter of the event horizon would be dependent on the mass of the black hole

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gimleychuckles t1_iv3yxmm wrote

The singularity is a dimensionless object. It is a point in space. We aren't certain what exactly that point looks like, but we do know it's a point. It has no length, width or height.

So to describe a black hole's size, is to refer to the event horizon, a boundary which is dictated by the black holes mass and spin.

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starmartyr t1_iv43286 wrote

The singularity might not actually exist. It is theorized under relativity, but it doesn't really work well with quantum theory. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a theory of quantum gravity so the singularity is the best model for the interior of a black hole that we have.

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