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Target: GARGANTUA

Gargantua Close up

Mass: 100 Million Suns

Spin Rate: 99.8% Speed of Light

Distance: 10 Billion Light Years from Earth

The Science of the Spin

Because Gargantua spins so fast, it drags space-time around with it. This is called "frame dragging." It is what allows the planets to orbit so close to the Event Horizon without falling in immediately.

The Accretion Disk

The glowing ring you see is not the hole itself, but hot gas swirling around it. The gas is so hot it glows like a star. The top part of the ring appears to curve "over" the hole because the gravity is bending the light from the back of the disk up towards your eyes.