Reply to post: Maths up the Khyber

There's a black hole lurking within 1,000 light years of Earth – and you can see stars circling it with the naked eye

steelpillow Silver badge
Boffin

Maths up the Khyber

Now I am no astronomer, but I do know that if one object has 6 solar masses and another has 4, then the heavier is certainly not orbiting the lighter. Throw in a second 6-solar-mass object and the 4-baby is just a bit of fluff. So how one of the bigger ones "orbited an invisible [smaller] companion" needs some explaining, as does the apparently total rubbish artist's impression.

In fact, as an example of the three-body problem, either this system is highly unstable or the mass estimates are way off.

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