Tag Archive for 'Tidal disruption'

Astronomers Detect Radio Signals from Star-Eating Black Hole

Mar 20, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers have detected radio echoes of a supermassive black hole feeding on a star, suggesting the black hole emits a jet of energy proportional to...

This illustration shows a glowing stream of material from a star, disrupted as it was being devoured by a supermassive black hole. When a star passes within a certain distance of a black hole -- close enough to be swallowed up -- the stellar material gets stretched and compressed as it is pulled in. A black hole’s destruction of a star, called ‘stellar tidal disruption,’ releases an enormous amount of energy, brightening the surroundings in an event called a flare. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Post-Merger Galaxies’ Supermassive Black Holes Can ‘Eat’ One Star per Year

Feb 2, 2018 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by University of Colorado Boulder scientists has discovered a mechanism that explains the persistence of asymmetrical star clusters...

This artist’s illustration depicts what astronomers call a tidal disruption event. Image credit: NASA / CXC / M. Weiss.

Tidal Disruption Events Occur More Frequently than Thought

Feb 28, 2017 by News Staff

According to a team of astronomers at the University of Sheffield, UK, stars are ripped apart by supermassive black holes 100 times more often than previously...

ASASSN-14li: X-Ray Telescopes Catch Supermassive Black Hole Shredding Star to Pieces

Oct 22, 2015 by News Staff

Using a trio of X-ray telescopes, astronomers have observed material being blown away from a supermassive black hole after it tore a star apart. The event...