How do you weigh the biggest black holes in the universe? One answer now comes from a completely new technique that astronomers have developed. By measuring a peak in the temperature of hot gas in the center of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4649, scientists have determined the mass of the galaxy’s supermassive black hole.
Hubble took this sequence of amazing pictures, showing the Great Red Spot — a storm far larger than our entire planet — chewing up and spitting out a smaller, though still ginormous, storm.
The red planet was once awash in water, say scientists — not hot, boiling water, but benign seas that may have been suitable for life. “There was apparently pervasive water present during the first 600 to 700 million years,” said Brown University geologist John Mustard, co-author of a paper scheduled to be published today in Nature.