Most galaxies hiding huge, star-eating black holes, astronomers say.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

From: Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service | Date: January 13, 1997| Author: Flam, Faye | Copyright information

TORONTO _ Giant black holes millions of times more massive than the Sun lurk in the hearts of most galaxies in the universe, astronomers announced Monday. Like one-way vacuum cleaners, they have swept up tons of dust and countless stars never to be seen again.

Though earlier observations had detected a few of these star-eating monster black holes, the new finding shows they are ubiquitous and probably acted as an important force in the shaping of the universe.

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