Question

Observations of the center of the Milky Way show the presence of a super massive black hole with a mass of 4.6 x 106 solar masses. Compute the Schwarzschild radius of this supermassive black hole. Give your answer in units of astronomical units (AU). At what distance does Mercury orbit from the Sun in AU? If we swapped out the Sun for this super massive black hole, would the event horizon extend beyond the orbit of Mercury? Be sure to show your calculations. 1 AU = 1.5 x 108 km.

Answer 1

The Schwarzschild radius of the black hole depends on its mass

The Schwarzschild radius of this supermassive black holeis 0.091 AU

How to determine the Schwarzschild radius?

The Schwarzschild radius (r) is calculated using:

$r_s = \frac{2GM}{c^2}$

Where:

G =  Gravitational constant = 6.67408 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2

M = Mass of the object = 4.6 x 10^6 solar masses

c = Speed of light = 299792458 m / s

Express the mass in Kg

M = 4.6 x 10^6 * 9.2 * 10^18 = 9.15 * 10^36 kg

Substitute the above values in the equation

$r_s = \frac{2 * 6.67408 * 10^{-11} * 9.15 * 10^36}{299792458 ^2}$

Evaluate the expression

$r_s = 13589425339.6$ m

Express as km

$r_s = 13589425.3396$ km

Expressas AU

$r_s = \frac{13589425.3396}{1.5 * 10^8}$

Evaluate the quotient

$r_s = 0.09059616893$

Approximate

$r_s = 0.091\ AU$

Hence, the Schwarzschild radius of this supermassive black holeis 0.091 AU

Read more about gravitational radius at:

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