Scientists have witnessed an extraordinary flare of energy emanating from a supermassive black hole, outshining the light of 10 trillion suns. The remarkable event was triggered when a large star unexpectedly strayed too close to the black hole, resulting in it being 'spaghettified' - stretched out into a thin, elongated shape due to the intense gravitational forces.
This cataclysmic occurrence occurred at a supermassive black hole approximately 300 million times more massive than our sun, residing within a distant galaxy roughly 11 billion light years away. A star with an estimated mass between 30 and 200 times that of our sun was engulfed by this black hole, ultimately resulting in the formation of a stream of hot gas as it spiralled towards oblivion.
This phenomenon is not unique to these particular conditions; almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, harbours a supermassive black hole at its core. However, scientists continue to grapple with understanding how these behemoths form and evolve over time.
Notably, this flare was first detected in 2018 by the Palomar Observatory and has been intensifying over the past three months, reaching peak brightness roughly 30 times that of any previously recorded event. The entire process is expected to take around 11 years to complete, during which time scientists will gain valuable insights into the universe's early epoch.
Due to the immense distance separating us from this black hole, observing its flash provides an invaluable opportunity for researchers to study these colossal structures and unravel their mysteries. By exploring how supermassive black holes form, interact with their surroundings, and influence the cosmos at large, scientists can gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental laws governing our universe.
This cataclysmic occurrence occurred at a supermassive black hole approximately 300 million times more massive than our sun, residing within a distant galaxy roughly 11 billion light years away. A star with an estimated mass between 30 and 200 times that of our sun was engulfed by this black hole, ultimately resulting in the formation of a stream of hot gas as it spiralled towards oblivion.
This phenomenon is not unique to these particular conditions; almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, harbours a supermassive black hole at its core. However, scientists continue to grapple with understanding how these behemoths form and evolve over time.
Notably, this flare was first detected in 2018 by the Palomar Observatory and has been intensifying over the past three months, reaching peak brightness roughly 30 times that of any previously recorded event. The entire process is expected to take around 11 years to complete, during which time scientists will gain valuable insights into the universe's early epoch.
Due to the immense distance separating us from this black hole, observing its flash provides an invaluable opportunity for researchers to study these colossal structures and unravel their mysteries. By exploring how supermassive black holes form, interact with their surroundings, and influence the cosmos at large, scientists can gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental laws governing our universe.
so basically a star just got pulled into a super massive black hole like 300 mil times more massive than ours lol it's literally getting stretched out like spaghetti 
and scientists are all about trying to figure out how these things form & evolve over time 
i mean its not like they're gonna get closer or anything tho 
we're still 11 billion light yrs away so good luck with that 
but for real though its mind blowing thinking about how these black holes affect the whole universe 
i mean, 10 trillion suns outshined by a black hole?? that's like, insane!!! 
i'm literally speechless rn... how can one star even get so close to a supermassive black hole without getting spaghettified lol? 
and the fact that scientists are studying this and we're getting all these insights into the universe's early epoch is just, wow! 
i mean i know we've learned so much about black holes already, but this just blows my mind 
just thinkin about it... black holes are like cosmic vacuum cleaners 
, they suck up everything that gets too close. but its kinda cool how scientists can learn so much from this thing... like, we're basically gettin' a glimpse of the universe's past by watchin' this star get devoured 
. 11 yrs is a looong time to be observin' somethin', but its gonna give us some dope insights into how these massive structures form & evolve 
.
this is wild imagine a star getting all squished like spaghettie 
and then just spiralling into this massive black hole... it's crazy how much energy it's putting out btw 10 trillion suns is INSANE 
. And the fact that we can observe it from so far away is just amazing 
.