Science News Hubb
Advertisement
  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
Science News Hubb
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News

Supermassive black hole snacks on the same star once every few years

admin by admin
January 15, 2023
in Science News


A black hole almost 900 million light years away consumes part of an orbiting star every time it gets too close



Space



13 January 2023

By Leah Crane

A supermassive black hole devouring material from a star (illustration)

Nearly 900 million light years away, a supermassive black hole has the munchies. Every 1200 days or so, the same orbiting star gets a little bit too close and the black hole takes a bite in what is known as a repeated partial tidal disruption event (TDE).

This TDE, designated AT2018fyk, is only the second ever found to repeat itself. Eric Coughlin at Syracuse University in New York presented the discovery on 12 January at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle.

The first bite that astronomers spotted was in 2018 when the black hole – which has a mass 6 billion times that of the sun – suddenly brightened and stayed bright for about 600 days. This happens anytime a star gets too close to a black hole, at which point it gets shredded by the powerful gravitational field, creating a stream of hot, bright stellar material that then falls into the black hole and dims again. That particular TDE was recorded, and once it rapidly died down astronomers thought that was the end of it.

But years after the black hole finished its snack, something strange happened. “Almost four years after it was originally detected, we went back and looked at this object again and found that it was once again bright,” said Coughlin. “That’s really, really weird, and that’s not at all predicted by standard theories of TDEs.”

The second brightening looked almost identical to the first. This led Coughlin and his colleagues to suggest that it was simply a second bite taken from the same star. Instead of shredding the star entirely, the black hole seems to be ripping off pieces of it every time it gets too close, leaving the core of the star to continue on another orbit.

On every pass, the black hole devours somewhere between 1 and 10 per cent of the star. “If it’s 10 per cent, then it’s more likely that this thing is only going to survive for maybe two or three more encounters with the supermassive black hole,” said Coughlin. “If it’s 1 per cent… maybe we’ve got a couple decades.”

Right now, AT2018fyk is still bright, as the black hole finishes up its stellar snack, but if the researchers’ model is right, it should rapidly go dark in August 2023 and then brighten again in March 2025. They will be keeping an eye on it to see what more we can learn about how black holes gobble up matter.

Sign up to our free Launchpad newsletter for a voyage across the galaxy and beyond, every Friday

More on these topics:



Source link

Tags: black holestars
Previous Post

After JWST, what’s the next big thing for astronomers?

Next Post

Enceladus is blanketed in a thick layer of snow

Next Post

Enceladus is blanketed in a thick layer of snow

Recommended

Mighty Morphin’ Turtle Robot Goes Amphibious by Shifting Leg Shape

January 2, 2023

SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches USSF-67 mission for US Space Force

January 15, 2023

Don't miss it

Science News

50 years ago, scientists debated when humans first set foot in North America

February 6, 2023
Science News

Thornborough Henges: Neolithic complex dubbed ‘Stonehenge of the North’ opens to UK public

February 6, 2023
Science News

Bright blue stars crawl among Tarantula Nebula clouds in Hubble telescope photo

February 6, 2023
Technology

A Secret Weapon in Preventing the Next Pandemic: Fruit Bats

February 6, 2023
Technology

Will COVID-19 Need an Annual Vaccine Like the Flu?

February 5, 2023
Technology

Unbalanced Allele Expression Associated with Mutation, Disease

February 5, 2023

© 2022 Science News Hubb All rights reserved.

Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement unless specified. By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us

Newsletter Sign Up

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Science News
  • Technology
  • Contact us

© 2022 Science News Hubb All rights reserved.