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Very Large Telescope Observes Gas Cloud Being Ripped Apart By Black Hole

Posted by Unknown on from the twirling-toward-oblivion dept.

An anonymous reader writes "New observations (PDF) from ESO's Very Large Telescope show for the first time a gas cloud being ripped apart by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. The cloud is now so stretched that its front part has passed the closest point and is traveling away from the black hole at more than 10 million km/h, whilst the tail is still falling towards it."

4 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Metric, you know? by sycodon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Metric aside, what scale is Very Large fall under?

    Will the next one be called Big Ass Telescope? Then, perhaps, Ginormous Telescope?

    I can't wait for the Fucking-A Telescope.

    --
    When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
  2. Other Resources by tist · · Score: 4, Informative

    Dr. Gillessen's web page has additional information here - https://wiki.mpe.mpg.de/gascloud/FrontPage and the ESO website has an article as well thatexplains what is happening - http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1332/
    JJW

  3. Re:Metric, you know? by T.E.D. · · Score: 4, Funny

    Even in the USA metric units are used in Physics and Astronomy.

    While this may be gratifying to see if you are accessing this American website from abroad, and are used to having to do mental conversions, you really shouldn't get the idea in your head that folks here in America have finally decided to reorder their thinking to suit your conveinence.

    I swear, give you Europeans an inch, and you'll take a mile. :-)

  4. Re:wow by plover · · Score: 4, Funny

    In Soviet Goat.cx, gas-cloud rips YOUR black-hole!

    You must be old here.

    --
    John