Artist’s impression of star being tidally disrupted by a supermassive black hole (IMAGE)

University of Birmingham

Artist’s impression of star being tidally disrupted by a supermassive black hole

Caption

This illustration depicts a star (in the foreground) experiencing spaghettification as it’s sucked in by a supermassive black hole (in the background) during a ‘tidal disruption event’. In a new study, done with the help of ESO’s Very Large Telescope and ESO’s New Technology Telescope, a team of astronomers found that when a black hole devours a star, it can launch a powerful blast of material outwards.

Credit

ESO/M. Kornmesser

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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