Latest news with #NASAHubble
NDTV
09-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Hungry Black Hole Rips Apart And Swallows 'Hapless' Star 600 Million Light-Years Away
In a scene straight out of a sci-fi movie, scientists have captured a hungry black hole that is ripping up and gobbling a star that came in its wake. The tidal disruption event (TDE) took place 600 million light-years away and was caught by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing a spectacular burst of radiation after the black hole was done swallowing the 'hapless' star. As per NASA, out of around 100 TDE events recorded so far, this is the first time that an offset TDE has been identified. The one million-solar-mass black hole is not exactly in the centre of its host galaxy, where supermassive black holes are typically found consuming the surrounding material. 'AT2024tvd is the first offset TDE captured by optical sky surveys, and it opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes with future sky surveys,' lead study author Yuhan Yao of the University of California at Berkeley said. Notably, a TDE happens when an infalling star is stretched or "spaghettified" by a black hole's immense gravitational tidal forces. A black hole revealed itself from 600 million light-years away when it ripped apart and swallowed a star. The resulting burst of radiation is the bright dot just off-center captured in this @NASAHubble image. — NASA (@NASA) May 8, 2025 Supermassive black hole lurking nearby What makes the finding more astonishing is the fact that it took place only 2,600 light-years from the more massive black hole at the galaxy's centre. That's just one-tenth the distance between our Sun and the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole. Strangely, the two supermassive black holes co-exist in the same galaxy, but are not gravitationally bound to each other as a binary pair. "The smaller black hole may eventually spiral into the galaxy's centre to merge with the bigger black hole. But for now, it is too far separated to be gravitationally bound," NASA stated. As for why the black hole had got off-centre, scientists theorised that the three-body problem might be the reason for its odd geography. . 'If the black hole went through a triple interaction with two other black holes in the galaxy's core, it can still remain bound to the galaxy, orbiting around the central region,' said Mr Yao. This is not the first time when a black hole has been spotted consuming a neighbouring or wayward star. In November last year, scientists discovered a black hole, named LID-568, devouring matter at a phenomenal rate -- over 40 times the theoretical limit, called the Eddington limit.
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Business Standard
09-05-2025
- Science
- Business Standard
NASA's Hubble telescope finds blackhole that swallowed star 600 mn yrs ago
NASA has shared an image of a black hole swallowing a star and causing a massive cosmic-level explosion. The event took place around 600 million years ago, and its radiation burst reached us now, which seems like a bright dot. Hubble and other telescopes confirms The Hubble Space Telescope managed to capture this rare cosmic moment, known as a Tidal Disruption Event (TDE). NASA also confirmed the discovery using two other tools: the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Array radio telescope. Sharing the image on X (formerly Twitter), NASA wrote, "A black hole revealed itself from 600 million light-years away when it ripped apart and swallowed a star. The resulting burst of radiation is the bright dot just off-centre captured in this @NASAHubble image." A black hole revealed itself from 600 million light-years away when it ripped apart and swallowed a star. The resulting burst of radiation is the bright dot just off-center captured in this @NASAHubble image. — NASA (@NASA) May 8, 2025 Big step in black hole research Yuhan Yao, the lead researcher from the University of California, Berkeley, said this event — named AT2024tvd — is special because it's the first TDE spotted slightly away from the center of a galaxy by optical sky surveys. This could help scientists find a new group of so-called 'wandering black holes' in future space studies. She added, 'Right now, theorists haven't paid much attention to these offset TDEs. I believe this discovery will inspire more research into these unusual black hole events.' What is a Tidal Disruption Event (TDE)? A TDE happens when a star comes too close to a black hole. The black hole's powerful gravity pulls the star apart — a process called "spaghettification" because the star gets stretched into long, thin pieces. These remains swirl around the black hole and heat up, releasing bursts of energy. These bursts can be seen from Earth through visible and ultraviolet light using powerful telescopes. Why does it matter? Ryan Chornock, a professor at UC Berkeley and a member of the ZTF research team, explained that TDEs help scientists detect massive black holes that would otherwise remain hidden. 'Tidal disruption events hold great promise for illuminating the presence of massive black holes that we would otherwise not be able to detect,' he said.
NDTV
09-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Black Hole That Swallowed Star 600 Million Light-Years Ago Found, NASA Shares Pic
NASA has released a stunning image of a black hole swallowing a star and causing a massive explosion. Although the cosmic event took place 600 million light-years ago, the burst of radiation has only reached us now, which appears like a bright dot. The space agency's Hubble Space Telescope captured the astronomical event, called a Tidal Disruption Event (TDE), and also confirmed it with observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Array radio telescope. Posting the image to X, NASA wrote, "A black hole revealed itself from 600 million light-years away when it ripped apart and swallowed a star. The resulting burst of radiation is the bright dot just off-centre captured in this @NASAHubble image." A black hole revealed itself from 600 million light-years away when it ripped apart and swallowed a star. The resulting burst of radiation is the bright dot just off-center captured in this @NASAHubble image. — NASA (@NASA) May 8, 2025 Lead study author Yuhan Yao of the University of California at Berkeley said, "AT2024tvd is the first offset TDE captured by optical sky surveys, and it opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes with future sky surveys." She further mentioned, "Right now, theorists haven't given much attention to offsetting TDEs. I think this discovery will motivate scientists to look for more examples of this type of event." How does a tidal disruption event (TDE) happen? A TDE happens when an infalling star gets too close to a black hole, which then stretches it like spaghetti due to its super-strong gravity. As the star falls apart, its pieces begin to orbit the black hole. This shredded material becomes extremely hot as it orbits, producing strong energy and light bursts that telescopes may detect as visible and ultraviolet light. Ryan Chornock, associate adjunct professor at UC Berkeley and a member of the ZTF team, said, "Tidal disruption events hold great promise for illuminating the presence of massive black holes that we would otherwise not be able to detect."
