Distant black hole caught in the act of destroying a star

The black hole was spinning rapidly, Andreoni and Coughlin said, which could help explain how the two powerful jets were launched into space at nearly the speed of light.

Astronomer Dheeraj Pasham of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the other study’s lead author, said researchers were able to see the phenomenon very early on — within a week before the black hole began consuming the doomed star.

While researchers detect tidal disruption events about twice per month, those that produce jets are extremely rare. One of the jets coming out of this black hole appears to be pointing towards Earth, making it appear brighter than going in the other direction – an effect called “Doppler boosting” similar to the sound of a passing police siren. Similar to amplified sound.

A supermassive black hole is believed to reside at the center of a galaxy – like the Milky Way, and most galaxies have one at their core. But the tidal disruption event was so bright that it obscured the light of the Milky Way’s stars.

“At its peak, the source appeared brighter than 1,000 trillion suns,” Pasham said.

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