Scientists observe supermassive black hole feeding on cold gas

For the first time, astronomers have detected billowy clouds of cold, clumpy gas streaming toward a black hole, at the center of a massive galaxy cluster. The clouds are traveling at speeds of up to 355 kilometers per second — that’s almost 800,000 miles per hour — and may be only 150 light years away from its edge, almost certain to fall into the black hole, feeding its bottomless well.