What happens at the gravitational center of a galaxy? In this episode of Whimsical Wavelengths, we spiral into the dark heart of the universe with Dr. James Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History. As a geophysicist, host Dr. Jeffrey Zurek steps out of his "wheelhouse" and into the event horizon to explore how supermassive black holes grow, interact, and occasionally "eat light."

We break down the complex physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and the intricate structures of accretion disks. Dr. Chan explains the fascinating technique of reverberation mapping—using the "echoes" of light to measure the size and scale of regions billions of light-years away. We also discuss the "black hole winds" that can travel thousands of light-years to s ...