An orbit next to a black hole
The same orbit equation that explains Mercury, squeezed in to 12.5 times the event-horizon radius. Each lap swings ahead of the last, tracing a rosette instead of an ellipse.
- Orbit swing on the last lap
- waiting for a lap
- Distance
- –
- Speed
- –
- Its clock ticks at
- –
- Laps
- 0
Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom · space to pause
What's real here
The orbit is solved step by step from Einstein's equation for a non-spinning black hole. No shortcuts, so the 33.9° swing comes out of the math rather than being drawn in.
Every pixel is a light ray traced backwards through curved space. That's why the disk behind the hole shows up above and below it, why the stars warp near the edge, and why the orbiter smears into an arc when it passes behind.
The disk starts where stable orbits end (3× the horizon radius). One side looks brighter because that gas is moving toward you at about half the speed of light. The swirl texture is decorative, and the path lines are drawn as guides, so light bending isn't applied to them.
Mercury drifts about 0.1 arcseconds per lap. This orbit drifts over a million times more.