OXFORD, England, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A new way to measure the mass of black holes could revolutionize the understanding of how they form and shape galaxies, British researchers say.
Developed by a team that included Oxford University scientists, the measurement technique can spot the telltale trace of carbon monoxide within the cloud of gas circling a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy, and by detecting the velocity of the spinning gas it can determine the mass of the black hole.