Starship Asterisk*

A Plurality of Singularities at the Galactic Center

Explanation: A recent informal poll found that astronomers don't yet have a good collective noun for a group of black holes, but they need one. The red circles in this Chandra Observatory X-ray image identify a group of a dozen black holes 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 stars or white dwarf stars in binary star systems. Alone, black holes would be invisible, but as part of a binary star system they accrete material from their normal companion star and generate X-rays. At the distance of the galactic center Chandra can detect only the brighter of these black hole binary systems as point-like sources of X-rays, hinting that many fainter X-ray emitting black hole binaries should exist there, as yet undetected.

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"A PASSEL of Black Holes"... "a BUNCH of black holes".... "Galactic Black Holies"...

"A WARD of Black Holes"... "A HOARD of Black Holes"...

"A HOLY of Black Holes".... "Holy Black Holes, Batman!"...that was Robins'

"A BUNG of Black Holes"... "I am Black Holio..."...

"A GRAVITA of Black Holes".... Gravity...get it????

Take your pick...

:---[===] *

What's the bright source below and to the right of the center?

Calcutta of black holes. Perhaps not politically incorrect now that the city is called Kolkata.

How about calling a group of black holes a "monastery" after those monks and friars who wore black cloaks?

CLUTCH
Like eggs in a nest. A "clutch" of eggs.

Nothing fancy is needed, "black cluster" would suffice.

The word you seek is a "Gathering".

As Mr Tyson often likes to point out, astronomers call it as they see em, unlike other sciences. No new words, or foreign words, just comparing the discovery to known properties by making a comparison. E.g.: very big reddish star: red giant; very small galaxy: dwarf galaxy; compact star predominantly made of neutrons: neutron star; spots on the Sun: sunspots; a rapid expansion of everything at the beginning of time: big bang. It could extend to a “group of a black holes”: e.g. black cluster. Or maybe when we learn more about the behavior (movement) of the group, we can compare it to animal behavior, and adopt that animal’s collective noun in a slightly more poetic nomenclature.

stef wrote: ↑Sat May 12, 2018 4:49 am Calcutta of black holes.

Brilliant!

A sling of singularities.

Just to name, I say "a cluster of pinot noir"

(Plurality of singularities?) OK; nice pun! It is so;

reading the article automatically came to my mind an experiment in physics class in high school that consisted of a long horizontal bar from where known distances were hung with a subtle thread some rings and one end was applied a circular motion, moments then the immediate neighbor began to turn in the opposite direction and then his immediate neighbor in the opposite direction so that he presented "by resonance" as the teacher said a series of dextro and levogiro inductions in alternating positions. (Firstly it occurred to me to ask and at the same time propose that the cause was the fine current of air generated in the movements produces an opposite movement in the next but the idea does not echo tube) .-
If that were the case, would not the induction to form these clusters be gravitational waves?

A collective noun for a group of black holes - Suckers

A depression of black holes?

A maw of black holes.

As in The Maw; a cluster of black holes near the planet Kessel in the Star Wars universe.

Where are the yellow circles?

An inkling.

Based on the dynamics of a cluster of black holes, I'd go with murmuration.

I recommend box. A box of black holes.

Sprinkling?