Scientists spy on black-hole eating habits with 'LISA'

As big fish eat little fish in the Earth's vast oceans, so too do supermassive black holes gorge on smaller black holes and neutron stars, making themselves more massive in the process. Using sophisticated computer modeling, Penn State scientists have calculated the rate of this black-hole snacking, called "extreme-mass-ratio inspirals." They expect to see several events per year with the Laser Interferometer Space Antennae (LISA), a joint NASA-European Space Agency mission now in development.

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All News summaries for January 16, 2005