The solar Eclipse of 2017: a moment of pause for astronomers

[Michael Varn]

When I saw pictures of this eclipse online, where it was a complete black circle, I thought of the astronomers who study Black holes.

In terms of the size and proximity to the earth, is this exactly what a stellar mass black hole would look like if this was not an eclipse, but a black hole?

If so, this had to give those astronomers a moment of pause, because to say a stellar mass black hole this close to the Earth would have a more dramatic effect on us than the eclipse did is the understatement of all time!!!

 

[Wolfshadw]

No. It's unlikely that you would see the black hole, but more the accretion disk gathering around it as dust, planet, and moon debris fall towards it. While it would have the same mass as the Sun, it's volume would be quite a bit smaller. A quick check online shows a diameter of only 26 miles (at 93M miles away, it'd be difficult to see).

-Wolf sends