Black Hole Swallowing Gas Clouds

[Cascabel]

Interesting link:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/08/supermassive-black-hole-eating-gas-clouds-astronomy-chile

 

Extract:

 

Astronomers in Chile have caught the first-ever glimpse of a “supermassive” black hole preparing to gorge itself on gas clouds about a billion light years from Earth.

Using the ALMA telescope in the Atacama desert, the international team spotted three clouds streaming towards a black hole at speeds of up to 800,000 miles (1.3m km) per hour.

 

Composed mainly of carbon monoxide, the clouds were “only” 300 light years from the huge hole, “essentially teetering on the edge of being devoured, in astronomical terms,” the European Southern Observatory said in a statement on Wednesday.

The microwave-spectrum observation provides the first direct evidence for the theory that black holes feed on clouds of gas.

 

Pic:

 

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ca541bf893c3c42fa2c33dedff8b36c0242589d6/0_2058_4500_2700/master/4500.jpg?w=1920&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=2826f4d4ad6417ac549cb203e658a751