Tow #1- More Evidence for Coming Black Hole Collision by Dennis Overbye

           This was an article written in the New York Times by Dennis Overbye. Overbye graduated M.I.T with a physics degree and has been writing for the Times since 1998. He is now the deputy science editor and writes about anything from the apocalypse to articles about black holes.

            In the article Overbye discusses recent findings which sheds light on an event which will happen in about 3.5 billion years. As of now there are two black holes that are gradually coming together and eventually going to collide. It was always thought that this was going to happen between the two galaxies but recent evidence has shown this is a fact. One of the quasars (a black hole where light is seen), is emitting light from the gas bubble that surrounds it. But what is different is that every couple of years the light increases and decreases in intensity. What has been discovered is that as these two black holes dance around each other, light is being given off in a type of Doppler-effect. This, along with evidence we will observe in the future, will give us a better idea of how this event will take place and how the collision will shake space and time.

(A picture from the article depicting two black holes orbiting one another)

            This article was written for a science-loving community. The language used was not too advanced but it gave vocabulary that not the average person would know. To this audience I believe Overbye was portraying the purpose of explaining the events that have taken place and then explaining how this new evidence ties into it. Personally I thought that he explained this message well and his use of rhetoric helped a lot.

            Right off the Bat the author used a great hook saying, “The apocalypse is still on, apparently — at least in a galaxy about 3.5 billion light-years from here” (Overbye 1). This use of rhetoric creates a sense of humor for the author. This strategy for pathos not only hooks the reader in, but it also establishes a good environment for the reader while going through what can potentially be taken as boring information. This along with the other humor and pathos related strategies made the read a good one.

This article can be found from this link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/space/more-evidence-for-coming-black-hole-collision.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0