NASA | Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star

When a star gets too close to a black hole, the black hole's gravity rips the star apart. The star's debris is flung outward at high speed, while some of it falls into the black hole. This causes a bright flash of X-rays that can last for a few years.

In one particular event, called ASASSN-14li, astronomers observed this flash of X-rays coming from a galaxy 290 million light-years away. They believe that the flash was caused by a star that was shredded by a supermassive black hole that weighs a few million times the mass of the sun.

The astronomers also found that the debris from the shredded star formed a hot disk around the black hole. The disk glowed brightly in X-rays, and its central region was so hot that it drove a flow of material away from the disk.

This event provides new insights into how black holes interact with their surroundings. Astronomers hope to find more events like ASASSN-14li to learn more about these mysterious objects.

Here are some of the key points of the text:

A star can be shredded by a black hole if it gets too close.
The star's debris is flung outward at high speed, while some of it falls into the black hole.
This causes a bright flash of X-rays that can last for a few years.
The debris from the shredded star can form a hot disk around the black hole.
The disk glows brightly in X-rays, and its central region is so hot that it drives a flow of material away from the disk.