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Scale weighs black holes better than before

Ground-based microwave telescopes determine masses of supermassive objects

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

A new technique more accurately measures the masses of supermassive black holes, providing astronomers with fresh data to explore the interactions between these monsters and their host galaxies.

HEAVYWEIGHT An image of the galaxy NGC 4526, from the Hubble Space Telescope, shows carbon monoxide molecules, indicated by purple spots overlaid on the image.