The disk's color runs from near-white heat at the inner edge to deep orange at the rim, and a field of background stars gives the scene depth.
The facts panel carries real figures - Sagittarius A* at about 4.3 million solar masses in our galaxy's center, M87* at about 6.5 billion (the first black hole ever imaged), and the rule of thumb of roughly 3 km of event-horizon radius per solar mass.
The page is honest about what it is - an artistic, educational approximation that does not solve general relativity; the numbers are real, the visuals are art.
Black Hole 3D Visualizer
Tens of thousands of glowing particles orbit the black event-horizon sphere, and the inner ones circle faster - the same reason real accretion disks shear and heat up.
The facts panel carries real figures - Sagittarius A* at about 4.3 million solar masses in our galaxy's center, M87* at about 6.5 billion (the first black hole ever imaged), and the rule of thumb of roughly 3 km of event-horizon radius per solar mass.
The page is honest about what it is - an artistic, educational approximation that does not solve general relativity; the numbers are real, the visuals are art.
For a step-by-step walkthrough of the controls and the physics facts, read the Black Hole 3D Visualizer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes a Solar System 3D Explorer and a Galaxy 3D Simulator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What am I looking at?
Tens of thousands of glowing particles orbit the black event-horizon sphere, and the inner ones circle faster - the same reason real accretion disks shear and heat up.
Is this a real physics simulation?
The page is honest about what it is - an artistic, educational approximation that does not solve general relativity; the numbers are real, the visuals are art.
What real figures does the panel include?
The facts panel carries real figures - Sagittarius A* at about 4.3 million solar masses in our galaxy's center, M87* at about 6.5 billion (the first black hole ever imaged), and the rule of thumb of roughly 3 km of event-horizon radius per solar mass.