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One possible way
to spot them in principle is to use the fact that they act as powerful
lenses. Any light passing near the black hole gets bent and any stars that we
see behind the black hole get distorted. This is a computer generated image
of the effect a black hole would have if it passed in front of a field of
stars. Unfortunately, this is only useful if the black hole is moving
relative to the distant star field, so that we can detect the change. The
black hole has to be passing by fairly close to the Earth, and we have to be
looking at the right place at the right time.
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