From: spicedham@dualboot.net   
      
   "Joseph Devaney"  wrote:   
   > from the little research that I have done and looked over about   
   > blackholes, I is to my understand that the bigger the body, the larger   
   > the graviational pull would be to pull in other objects.   
   >   
   > my question stems to this.  is it possible for 2 (or more) blackholes to   
   > exist withn a close proximity.  the gravitational collapse of a star or   
   > even greater, a galaxy does cause a blackhole, unless I am mistaken...   
   > but, say it were to happen in close proximity of another star?  say 2   
   > stars begin a gravitational collapse at the same time?   
   >   
   > will one star more rapidly collapase, thus "sucking" the other star into   
   > its force?  or do they for lack of a better term, happily co-exist?   
   >   
   > can someone explain to me in the most detail possible how they can or   
   > cannot exist in the same proximity?   
      
   There's nothing special about the gravitational force from a   
   blackhole.  They don't "suck in" objects any more than any   
   other body of the same mass.  In fact, because a blackhole   
   is smaller than a star of the same mass, they actually   
   "suck in" less, because objects which are pulled close enough   
   to hit the body of a star would likely miss even the accretion   
   disc of a blackhole.  From a distance, you cannot tell   
   gravitationally when a star has collapsed into a blackhole,   
   it's the same mass.   
      
   So yes, blackhole's can coexist.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)