Readers discuss black holes’ trippy effects on time, banned swimsuits

Time to eat

Astronomers watched in real time as the supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy went from dim and quiet to bright and actively feeding on material, Adam Mann reported in “For the first time, scientists witness a black hole turning on” (SN: 7/13/24 & 7/27/24, p. 7).

Reader Chris Sheppard wondered how a black hole can consume material, when time seems to stop at the outer edge — the event horizon.