A Plurality of Singularities at the Galactic Center

A recent informal poll found that astronomers don’t yet have a good collective noun for a group of Black Hole, but they need one.

The red circles in this Chandra Observatory X-ray image identify a group of a dozen Black Hole that are members of Binary Star Systems. With 5 to 30 times the mass of the Sun, the black hole binaries are swarming within about 3 light-years of the center of our Galaxy where the supermassive Black Hole identified as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) resides.

Yellow circles indicate X-ray sources that are likely less massive Neutron Star or White Dwarf Stars in Binary Star Systems. Alone, Black Hole would be invisible, but as part of a Binary Star Systems they accrete material from their normal companion star and generate X-rays.

At the distance of the galactic center Chandra Observatory can detect only the brighter of these Black Hole Binary Star Systems as point-like sources of X-rays, hinting that many fainter X-rays emitting Black Hole Binary Star Systems should exist there, as yet undetected.