First Science From A Virtual Observatory

mindpixel writes "I first mentioned Virtual Observatories in my July 2000 Slashdot interview. Now, nearly four years later, Spacetelescope.org is reporting a European team has used the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) to find 30 supermassive black holes that had previously escaped detection behind masking dust clouds. The identification of this large population of long-sought 'hidden' black holes is the first scientific discovery to emerge from a Virtual Observatory. The result suggests that astronomers may have underestimated the number of powerful supermassive black holes by as much as a factor of five."

Comments

Just what we needed

[youknowmewell]

Great, just what the OS community needed, more black holes.

There goes my plans for deep space exploration... I don't mess around with black holes.

Holy Mind Expansion Batman!

[beatleadam]

The result suggests that astronomers may have underestimated the number of powerful supermassive black holes by as much as a factor of five

AMAZING!

The fact that we as a community can see and "Learn" in what is almost real-time...incredible.