Black Hole

LOS ANGELES - Back when single-celled organisms ruled Earth, a gigantic black hole lurking quietly at the center of a distant galaxy dismantled and devoured a star. This month, astronomers reported that they watched the whole thing unfold over a period of 15 months starting in 2010, the first time such an event had been witnessed in great detail from start to finish. "The star got so close that it was ripped apart by the gravitational force of the black hole," said Johns Hopkins astronomer Suvi Gezari, lead author of a paper about the observations that was published online by the journal Nature.

Scientists circumvented two faulty computers aboard the space shuttle Columbia that had jeopardized its astronomy mission and yesterday reported major scientific discoveries, including stunning evidence that black holes lurk at the hearts of some galaxies. After losing 22 hours of work time after what appeared Thursday to be a disastrous hardware breakdown, the observatory in the shuttle's cargo bay began to operate yesterday with normal efficiency, scientists said. "It's working as well as it ever could possibly have worked," said Arthur Davidsen, who works with one of the telescopes.

"We're gratified that Boscov's will remain a family business. " - department store chairman Albert Boscov, 81, on the appointment of his nephew Jim Boscov, 61, as vice chairman "I call them the black hole because they suck up everything and nothing comes out. " - Bill Quimby of TollFreeNumbers.com, on Philadelphia-based PrimeTel Communications Inc.'s aggressive acquisition of toll-free numbers for phone-sex services "If this...

"G-Force" leaps immediately to the front rank of 3-D action movies about talking guinea pigs. Where it will remain for eternity, given that after "G-Force" lands with a thud, there will likely never be another. On the other hand, one must never underestimate the power of a Disney marketing blitz. Saturation advertising has pre-Potter kiddies primed for some talking-animal yuks. But you should know that this is not "Babe. " Do what you must to ensure that somebody else ferries your kids to this dud. Thank me later.

Astronomers reported new evidence yesterday that an immense black hole, weighing as much as 2.6 million suns, squats at the hub of the Milky Way, gobbling up elderly stars while the rest of the galaxy wheels around it. Younger stars, like one nicknamed the Bullet, are zipping by the center of our galaxy at such high speeds that even the enormous gravity of the suspected black hole cannot capture them, the astronomers said. The unusual motions of these stars - and the tremendous mass of the stationary object in their midst - provide the strongest confirmation yet that the center of the Milky Way is occupied by a black hole, astronomers told a news conference here sponsored by the American Astronomical Society.

The year: 27291. The place: On board the starship Quasar en route to a giant black hole in the heart of the Milky Way galaxy. Astronaut Tim Golden has prepared for this voyage since his youth and now stands on the brink of being the first human to visit these mysterious objects that have fascinated people for thousands of years. During his long voyage he has experienced a dazzling light show, passing through a region where stars are 100 million times more common than in the region near our sun. After penetrating a watermelon-shaped mass of stars guarding the core of the galaxy, he sees huge currents of superhot gases and a 90 trillion-mile-long river of cold gases streaming toward a violently spinning disk of dust and superheated gas. As he approaches, he puts the Quasar on automatic pilot so that it orbits the black hole.

Maybe you've seen the signs of the apocalypse. One was spotted in New York. Literally. The kind with lettering. Next to a sidewalk squatter, not far from the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. This wasn't a vague the-end-is-nigh warning. This guy knew when: May 21, 2011. Billboards scattered around the country, from Vineland, N.J., to Nashville, also proclaim that's the date of Judgment Day, when Jesus Christ returns. The message comes from California-based radio evangelist Harold Camping, who did the math and calculated the time left to "turn away from your sins and humbly beg, beseech, and implore God for forgiveness," he writes at his familyradio.com.

HOLLYWOOD REPORT: LETTERMAN TO HOST OSCARS Popular late-night talk-show host David Letterman will host this year's Academy Awards ceremony, the entertainment industry trade newspaper Daily Variety reported last night. Columnist Army Archerd wrote that the deal had been struck with Letterman for the March 27 show "even though he supposedly once kidded, 'But it's on my bowling night!' " Archerd said, citing no sources for his two-sentence report. Letterman has been winning the ratings in the late-night talk-show wars after defecting from NBC to rival network CBS, where he hosts "The Late Show With David Letterman.

Rumors that the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider could destroy the world seem to have started innocently last summer in the letters section of Scientific American. A physicist named Walter Wagner suggested that the tremendous concentrations of energy created in the collisions could collapse, creating a teeny-tiny black hole that would swallow the planet. The magazine published the letter, along with a rebuttal by theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University.

LOS ANGELES - Back when single-celled organisms ruled Earth, a gigantic black hole lurking quietly at the center of a distant galaxy dismantled and devoured a star. This month, astronomers reported that they watched the whole thing unfold over a period of 15 months starting in 2010, the first time such an event had been witnessed in great detail from start to finish. "The star got so close that it was ripped apart by the gravitational force of the black hole," said Johns Hopkins astronomer Suvi Gezari, lead author of a paper about the observations that was published online by the journal Nature.

TARIQ ALI acted as soon as he saw the hole in the street. It was February, and the opening was small. But it was right next to a playground, so he figured he shouldn't wait another day. He called 3-1-1, and was told that the Streets Department would take care of it in about six weeks. Ali waited. The days grew longer in Frankford and the hole grew larger. Ali said it was about 5 feet wide. "It was like a black hole," he said. While he was waiting for the Streets Department, people got their cars "tore up," Ali said.

"We're gratified that Boscov's will remain a family business. " - department store chairman Albert Boscov, 81, on the appointment of his nephew Jim Boscov, 61, as vice chairman "I call them the black hole because they suck up everything and nothing comes out. " - Bill Quimby of TollFreeNumbers.com, on Philadelphia-based PrimeTel Communications Inc.'s aggressive acquisition of toll-free numbers for phone-sex services "If this...

Maybe you've seen the signs of the apocalypse. One was spotted in New York. Literally. The kind with lettering. Next to a sidewalk squatter, not far from the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. This wasn't a vague the-end-is-nigh warning. This guy knew when: May 21, 2011. Billboards scattered around the country, from Vineland, N.J., to Nashville, also proclaim that's the date of Judgment Day, when Jesus Christ returns. The message comes from California-based radio evangelist Harold Camping, who did the math and calculated the time left to "turn away from your sins and humbly beg, beseech, and implore God for forgiveness," he writes at his familyradio.com.

Business model is what Christie wants Gov. Christie has nominated former New York City deputy schools chancellor Christopher Cerf to be education commissioner. Is it me, or does anyone else see the incongruity of selecting someone to run New Jersey's schools from a state ranked lower than New Jersey in national academic assessments? Christie has made it no secret that he is a supporter of charter schools, and so is Cerf, who is a former chief executive of Edison Schools, the country's largest for-profit operator of public schools.

I just mailed in my family's income taxes, and I'm not - I repeat, not - hopping mad. I don't own an assault rifle or a crossbow. A week of downpours just wiped out my early garden crops - the peas, beets, and the rest - and I'm already over it. I'll replant. I can't think of a single ethnic group that makes my blood boil - unless you count my own Fighting Irish, those gridiron delinquents. I just sent in the census form without giving it a second paranoid thought.

"G-Force" leaps immediately to the front rank of 3-D action movies about talking guinea pigs. Where it will remain for eternity, given that after "G-Force" lands with a thud, there will likely never be another. On the other hand, one must never underestimate the power of a Disney marketing blitz. Saturation advertising has pre-Potter kiddies primed for some talking-animal yuks. But you should know that this is not "Babe. " Do what you must to ensure that somebody else ferries your kids to this dud. Thank me later.

It's time to say happy birthday to Ben Franklin. Why not celebrate that Jan. 17 occasion with a visit today to the American Philosophical Society, America's first learned society, founded by Franklin in 1743? Featured there is an exhibit, "Manuscript As Muse," centered on Rebecca Kamen's 13 sculptures that were inspired by the treasure trove of scientific rare books and manuscripts in the society's collection. This Philadelphia native, who lives in Virginia, has included a piece, Magic Circle of Circles, relating to Franklin's experiments and observations on electricity.

Thomas Schwartz is a professor at UCLA Vice presidents once were little more than Senate chairs and presidential spares. Then they became presumptive heirs, favored candidates for their party's presidential nomination. George W. Bush broke that pattern by picking a running mate with a great resume but no wish to run eight years later. John McCain and Barack Obama would be wise to do the same. Originally, the runner-up in the vote for president became vice president, the first two being John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away . . . " BRITAIN'S News of the World reported yesterday that the four-year marriage of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills was on the rocks and the couple had spent the week 55 miles apart. After what was reported to be a serious argument, Heather left Sir Paul at their farm in Peasmarsh and took two-year-old daughter Beatrice to their seafront home at Hove. A friend of the couple told News of the World: "The marriage is definitely in difficulties.