Big gulp.Scientists recently witnessed a black hole swallow a supersize supersize or supersized Adjective larger than standard size Verb [-sizes, -sizing, -sized] to increase the size of (something, such as a standard portion of food) snack--a neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. star. Black holes are monstrous concentrations of matter. The largest variety lurk To view the interaction in a chat room or online forum without participating by typing in any comments. See de-lurk. lurk - lurking in the center of most galaxies, says Suvi Gezari, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology, at Pasadena, Calif.; originally for men, became coeducational in 1970; founded 1891 as Throop Polytechnic Institute; called Throop College of Technology, 1913–20. . These black holes are so massive that their gravity pulls in anything that approaches too closely--even something as large as a star! This happens because the more massive an object, the stronger this attractive force becomes. On the rare occasions when a star's orbit passes near a black hole, gravity stretches the star and rips it apart. The stellar scraps streak toward the black hole, heating up and producing a flare of light. The recent observations of such flares show that the black hole had been reeling in its meal for two years, says Gezari. That's one extended snack time. |
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