Latest news with #RyanChornock
Economic Times
13-05-2025
- Science
- Economic Times
Supermassive black hole 'ate' a star, are we next? Here's what NASA found out
A mysterious black hole, 600 million light-years away, has been caught devouring a star in a groundbreaking cosmic event Astronomers have for the first time witnessed a supermassive black hole eat a star 'outside' the core of its host galaxy in a groundbreaking cosmic discovery, challenging long-held beliefs about where these entities reside. The event 'AT2024tvd' was detected 600 million light-years away and marks the first "offset" tidal disruption event (TDE) ever captured by optical sky surveys. Also Read: Human skull on Mars? Spotted initially by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and later confirmed through NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, the event revealed a star being torn apart by a 'wandering black hole' weighing around 1 million times the mass of the Sun. 'This is the first offset TDE captured by optical sky surveys,' said Yuhan Yao, lead study author and astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley. 'It opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes.' The black hole's dramatic meal caused an intense flare, brighter and hotter than a supernova, prompting a wave of follow-up observations. TDEs occur when stars venture too close to black holes and are stretched into strands, a process nicknamed 'spaghettification.' This creates shock waves and releases powerful bursts of energy, which telescopes can detect across the electromagnetic discovery may lead to a new chapter in black hole science. 'Now we can use TDEs to find them,' said Ryan Chornock, a member of the ZTF team. A black hole is a region in space where gravity is so strong that nothing(not even light) can escape from it. It forms when a massive star collapses under its gravity after running out of directly. Since light can't escape them, black holes are invisible. But we can "see" them indirectly by observing how they affect nearby stars, gas, or light, such as glowing disks of material falling in or stars moving strangely near them. Could a black hole come close to Earth? It's extremely unlikely. The nearest known black hole is thousands of light-years away. And even a 'wandering' black hole like the one in the recent discovery is still safely hundreds of millions of light-years from us.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Supermassive black hole 'ate' a star, are we next? Here's what NASA found out
In a cosmic first, astronomers observed a supermassive black hole consuming a star. This happened outside the core of its host galaxy. The event, named AT2024tvd, occurred 600 million light-years away. Zwicky Transient Facility spotted it. NASA's Hubble and Chandra telescopes confirmed it. The black hole, a million times the Sun's mass, tore the star apart. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs What is a black hole? Can we see black holes? Astronomers have for the first time witnessed a supermassive black hole eat a star 'outside' the core of its host galaxy in a groundbreaking cosmic discovery, challenging long-held beliefs about where these entities event 'AT2024tvd' was detected 600 million light-years away and marks the first "offset" tidal disruption event (TDE) ever captured by optical sky initially by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and later confirmed through NASA 's Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, the event revealed a star being torn apart by a 'wandering black hole' weighing around 1 million times the mass of the Sun.'This is the first offset TDE captured by optical sky surveys,' said Yuhan Yao, lead study author and astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley . 'It opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes.'The black hole's dramatic meal caused an intense flare, brighter and hotter than a supernova, prompting a wave of follow-up occur when stars venture too close to black holes and are stretched into strands, a process nicknamed 'spaghettification.' This creates shock waves and releases powerful bursts of energy, which telescopes can detect across the electromagnetic discovery may lead to a new chapter in black hole science.'Now we can use TDEs to find them,' said Ryan Chornock, a member of the ZTF team.A black hole is a region in space where gravity is so strong that nothing(not even light) can escape from it. It forms when a massive star collapses under its gravity after running out of directly. Since light can't escape them, black holes are invisible. But we can "see" them indirectly by observing how they affect nearby stars, gas, or light, such as glowing disks of material falling in or stars moving strangely near extremely unlikely. The nearest known black hole is thousands of light-years away. And even a 'wandering' black hole like the one in the recent discovery is still safely hundreds of millions of light-years from us.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Hubble Telescope sees wandering black hole slurping up stellar spaghetti
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers have caught a black hole far from the center of its home galaxy ripping a star to shreds — providing, for the first time, direct evidence of a rogue supermassive black hole in action. The event, named AT2024tvd, took place approximately 600 million light-years from Earth. Despite weighing about a million times the mass of our sun, the black hole wasn't found at the center of its host galaxy, where such giants typically reside. It marks the first known instance of an "off-center" tidal disruption event (TDE), a phenomenon where a star is stretched and torn apart — or spaghettified — by a black hole's immense gravity. Astronomers say the find opens the door for tracking down other rogue TDEs. "I think this discovery will motivate scientists to look for more examples of this type of event," Yuhan Yao, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study, said in a NASA statement. The sudden, bright flare from the event was picked up by the Zwicky Transient Facility, a sky-surveying optical camera mounted on a telescope at the Palomar Observatory near San Diego. Follow-up observations by the Hubble Space Telescope revealed that this black hole lies 2,600 light-years from the galaxy's core, where a much larger black hole resides — a behemoth 100 million times the mass of the sun. The presence of two massive black holes in a single galaxy isn't unexpected, astronomers say. Most large galaxies contain at least one supermassive black hole at their center. Because galaxies frequently collide and merge over cosmic timescales, astronomers have long speculated that some galaxies might harbor multiple black holes, at least until they eventually collide and merge into an even larger black hole. These hidden giants typically remain quiet, only revealing themselves when they consume nearby stars or gas clouds, producing a brief burst of light. But catching these black holes in action is incredibly rare. Astronomers estimate that a massive black hole consumes a star approximately once every 30,000 years. These events "hold great promise for illuminating the presence of massive black holes that we would otherwise not be able to detect," Ryan Chornock, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, said in the same statement. "Theorists have predicted that a population of massive black holes located away from the centers of galaxies must exist, but now we can use TDEs to find them." RELATED STORIES: — Star escapes ravenous supermassive black hole, leaving behind its stellar partner — Astronomers witness 18 ravenous black holes ripping up and devouring stars — Mystery solved? Runaway black hole chased by tail of stars may be galaxy in disguise While the presence of two supermassive black holes in a single galaxy isn't surprising, the fact that this one is not gravitationally bound to the galaxy's core raises intriguing questions about its history. For one, astronomers are uncertain how this "rogue" black hole ended up so far from the center. One theory is that it was ejected during a violent cosmic interaction involving multiple black holes. Another possibility is that it came from a smaller galaxy that merged with the larger one over a billion years ago. If this rogue black hole was indeed a remnant of a past merger, it may eventually drift inward and merge with the larger black hole at the galaxy's center, according to the statement. Such a merger would release powerful gravitational waves, ripples in spacetime that could one day be detected by future space-based observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), scheduled for launch in 2035. This research is described in a paper accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
&w=3840&q=100)
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."
