Think of a ball spinning on a table. While it is just sitting there it has no sides, no top, no bottom. It's just... round. When it's spinning it has "sides" and a "top" and a "bottom". It doesn't really have a top and bottom (it's just round), but it has a direction of spin, and that gives it a top/bottom and sides.

The top is just the axis of spin.

It's the same with a black hole. Or a star. Or a planet. Or anything that's more or less ball shaped.

Quote from: Lcarvuna on June 22, 2025, 02:25:46I apologize for my ignorance, but does this mean Earth is on a collision course with a massive black hole?

No. Since they're talking about the black hole at the center of "our galaxy", that would mean our sun is already in a constant motion orbiting around it. Our distance to the black hole is always going to remain around the same, ±1 astronomical unit (distance between earth and sun).

If the poles are pointing towards earth and obviously the opposite direction Surely that would mean Sagittarius a is spinning on a different plane to the galactic disk?. would that not be weird.also as the galactic disk spins we won't be in the same place in a century or two? So unless it is producing jets which would take light years to reach us again by which time we would no longer be a target why does it matter?

Ok I think there is a misunderstanding here. Most commenters thinks 'pointing us' means moving towards us, but it means the rotational axis points to us. Which is raises the question, are jets from super massive black holes helps / causes the emerging life on a planet?

this is bad physics. it doesn't point toward anything, the picture you have in your mind of the black hole being a deep well in the fabric of 'spacetime' is wrong. so, if anything, it points in all directions.

stay awake.

cheerio.

Maybe in a few billion years, but by that time the sun will have swallowed us up.

No.

I apologize for my ignorance, but does this mean Earth is on a collision course with a massive black hole?