Black holes caught in the act of swallowing stars

Black holes caught in the act of swallowing stars

4 years ago
Anonymous $-riAjkQg_1

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/black-holes-caught-act-swallowing-stars

Models suggest black holes can stretch devoured stars into long streamers.

 At the center of nearly every galaxy lies a monster, a giant black hole millions or even billions of times heavier than the Sun. Some, known as quasars or active galactic nuclei, shine brightly from across the universe as they continuously devour surrounding gas. But most are dormant, lurking invisibly for thousands of years—until a star passes too close and is ripped to shreds. That triggers a monthslong tidal disruption event (TDE), which can shine as brightly as a supernova.