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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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asp, and even fundamental quantities such as space and time are severely disrupted by their presence. Yet, despite their fantastical nature, astronomers have compiled significant evidence that black holes are actually quite common and are lying at the centers of almost all massive galaxies. Therefore, black holes are no longer the theoretical subjects of mathematical physicists; they are now known to be crucial to our understanding of how galaxies and other structures in the Universe formed and evolved. This talk will provide an overview of our understanding of black holes in the observable universe, and outline how astrophysicists are using them to probe some of the deepest questions in the cosmos.