2025-11-17 Fairground rides
An astute reader asks:
“Is the black hole a sort of tourist attraction, or is it like a wasteland avoided at all costs”
You'll be pleased to hear that, although, as I've mentioned, it's not safe or even fashionable to go actually into the black hole at the centre of the Sombrero Galaxy, the whole area around the event horizon is balmy. (Mnemonic: outside balmy, inside barmy.)
Whereas wimpy black holes like the ones in pathetic science fiction films have massive tidal forces near the event horizon, decently big ones like the Big Banana (that's what some of us call it) have event horizons far enough away from the centre that the tidal forces are just enough to tickle (see Roger Penrose, “The Road To Reality” §27.9).
So we've set up fairground rides all around ours. It's basically a carnival.
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