Massive black hole shreds passing star
This artist’s rendering illustrates new findings about a star shredded by a black hole. When a star wanders too close to a black hole, intense tidal forces rip the star apart. In these events, called “tidal disruptions,” some of the stellar debris is flung outward at high speed while the rest falls toward the black hole. This causes a distinct X-ray flare that can last for a few years. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Swift Gamma-ray Burst Explorer, and ESA/NASA’s XMM-Newton collected different pieces of this astronomical puzzle in a tidal disruption event called ASASSN-14li, which was found in an optical search by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) in November 2014. The event occurred near a supermassive black hole estimated to weigh a few million times the mass of the sun in the center of PGC 043234, a galaxy that lies about 290 million light-years away. Astronomers hope to find more events like ASASSN-14li to test theoretical models about how black holes affect their environments.
During the tidal disruption event, filaments containing much of the star's mass fall toward the black hole. Eventually these gaseous filaments merge into a smooth, hot disk glowing brightly in X-rays. As the disk forms, its central region heats up tremendously, which drives a flow of material, called a wind, away from the disk.
-
2:32:46
Tundra Gaming Live
11 hours ago $15.09 earnedThe Great Tundra Nation $2500 Giveaway Waiting Room!
55K1 -
59:08
The StoneZONE with Roger Stone
13 hours agoHarris Turns a Blind Eye as Jet Fuel Leak Poisons Thousands of Military Families | The StoneZONE
81.6K21 -
59:53
Havoc
15 hours agoYou Rap What You Eat: What Makes a Great Lyricist | Stuck Off the Realness Ep. 17
99.5K10 -
1:04:37
Edge of Wonder
15 hours agoReal Werewolf Stories in History: Demons, Shapeshifters, or Dogmen?
84K15 -
1:01:23
Sarah Westall
14 hours agoDo YOU have White Privilege? Taking on the Man w/ AJ Rice
77.7K12 -
1:41:29
2 MIKES LIVE
14 hours ago2 MIKES LIVE #131 Open Mike Friday with Special Guest JEROME CORSI!
54.9K3 -
1:11:57
Exploring With Nug
16 hours ago $28.74 earnedMASSIVE Compound With Armed Guards Set Up Just Outside Asheville!
66.1K93 -
10:21
Chrissy Clark
21 hours agoTim Walz BOMBSHELL Accusations😱 I Underreported Stories
68.6K62 -
58:50
World Nomac
18 hours agoMY FIRST TIME in Manila Philippines 🇵🇭
71K6 -
1:01:05
In The Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd
1 day agoPsycho Ex-Girlfriend Kamala | In the Litter Box w/ Jewels & Catturd – Ep. 672 – 10/18/2024
103K63