Friday, November 22, 2024

Scientists have discovered the closest a star-shredding black hole has ever come to Earth

Date:

An illustration of a star being ‘enhanced’ by a supermassive black hole. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Long ago, in a galaxy not too far away, a supermassive black hole tore a star to pieces in the center of galaxy NGC 7392. A flash of light from a black hole dinner finally reached Earth in 2014 — and astronomers have just discovered it in their data.

This newly discovered explosion from the center of NGC 7392 is the closest example of a tidal perturbation event (TDE), in which a star is pulled away by the intense gravity of a black hole. The results were published on April 28 in Astrophysical Journal Letters. (Opens in a new tab)

POPULAR

RELATED ARTICLES

How Climate Change Affects Turtle Nesting Sites: What You Need to Know

Climate change is an ever-growing concern, and its effects...

Putin, a member of the International Criminal Court, is set to travel to Mongolia despite an arrest warrant against him

Despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court,...

Japan Typhoon: Millions ordered to evacuate as one of strongest typhoons in decades hits Japan

What's the latest?Posted at 12:48 BST12:48 GMTImage source ReutersTyphoon...