Scientists get first look at supermassive black hole 'eating' gas clouds

The observation, made accidentally by astronomers in Chile, provides the first direct evidence for the theory that black holes feed on clouds of gas

Astronomers in Chile have caught the first-ever glimpse of a "supermassive" black hole preparing to gorge itself on gas clouds about a billion light years from Earth.

Using the ALMA telescope in the Atacama desert, the international team spotted three clouds streaming towards a black hole at speeds of up to 800,000 miles (1.3m km) per hour.