Sign in / up

back to article Breakneck star orbits black hole at record speed

The ESA's XMM-Newton has turned up a star and black hole, separated by around a million kilometres, orbiting each other in just 2.4 hours. The pair outstrips the previous record of 3.2 hours for an orbit, held by Swift J1753.5-0127. The speed at which each of the two objects move is pretty impressive. Since they orbit a common …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "out of thew [sic] main disk of the galaxy."

    Way to spell-check there guys.

    And would it be so hard to say "more than 2 million km/h (0.2% of the speed of light)"?

    2 3
    1. Annihilator
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Down

      Re: "out of thew [sic] main disk of the galaxy."

      The speed of light... where? And even if written compared to c (which I assume you meant), did it give you any information you didn't already have?

      0 2
    2. NomNomNom
      Reply Icon

      Re: "out of thew [sic] main disk of the galaxy."

      that's an Olympic swimming pool full of usain bolts

      2 0
      1. Tom 7
        Reply Icon

        Re: "out of thew [sic] main disk of the galaxy."

        Or a mere sink full of Lance Armstrong's pee.

        2 0
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @David D. Hagood

    'And would it be so hard to say "more than 2 million km/h (0.2% of the speed of light)"?'

    But then you'd miss the chance to show that you can do the calculation and awe us all with an especially pointless example of pedantry. Applause, applause, applause ...

    3 3
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      That's quick..

      As a measurement of speed in time I would call that

      'A reasonable working day, for a Frenchman'

      As the 2.4 hours equates to the total productive time of a French factory worker after lunch and coffee breaks are taken into account.

      4 4
  3. Neoc

    @David D. Hagood

    2,000,000 Km/h is not 0.2%, it's 0.185313386221196% - at best rounded to 0.19%

    6 2
    1. Eddy Ito
      Reply Icon
      Facepalm

      Re: @David D. Hagood

      Lovely, just what is needed. Who's up for a mid week sig fig smack down? Yeah, that's what I thought.

      1 1
    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: @David D. Hagood

      We were given 1 significant digit of precision, any conversion expressing more than one significant digit of precision is wrong. Go back to science class.

      4 0
  4. Winkypop Silver badge
    Alien

    Galactic scale canival ride

    Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

    2 0
    1. Mips
      Reply Icon
      Childcatcher

      Re: Galactic scale canival ride

      Yes. It looks like they are developing a Spindizzy (James Blish: Cities in Flight). All we need now to prove it is to watch it jump across space.

      2 1
    2. VeganVegan
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Re: Galactic scale canival (sic) ride

      Perhaps a galactic hamster ride?

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Biunzk1sU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

      0 0
  5. JDX Gold badge

    Pretty slow

    Only 0.18% of c

    c is pretty fast.

    0 0
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Re: Pretty slow

      Well, it's relatively fast.

      10 0
      1. JDX Gold badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Pretty slow

        It takes a special kind of person to understand your joke.

        2 0
        1. JDX Gold badge
          Reply Icon

          Re: Pretty slow

          In general, I think these 3 comments show who knows science and who watched Big Bang Theory.

          0 0
  6. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Coat

    Why did I read "Neckbeard star orbits black hole at record speed"?

    I .... gotta get out of this "industry".

    0 0
  7. Crisp

    So how long until that black hole eats its companion?

    That's going to be a big x-ray event.

    0 0
  8. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    Bathtub effect, when the plug is pulled?

    "Glug, Glug, Glug, Glug , Glug" ?

    0 0

  9. This post has been deleted by its author

  10. Amorous Cowherder
    Happy

    Obligatory Python reference!

    "The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding

    In all of the directions it can whizz

    As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know,

    Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is.

    So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure,

    How amazingly unlikely is your birth,

    And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space,

    'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth!"

    5 1
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Obligatory Python reference!

      And the fact somebody down-voted you is evidence of the truth of the last line....

      0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.

Other stories you might like