Uncovering the Demise of a Star: How a Supermassive Black Hole is Involved
Did you ever wonder what happens when a supermassive black hole swallows a star? Scientists have recently been able to uncover the mystery of the star’s demise. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, an international team of astronomers observed the destruction of a star that ventured too close to a supermassive black hole. The star was ripped into streamers of gas and dust that traveled at a quarter of the speed of light — the fastest ever seen. The streamers circled the black hole for more than a decade before they were eventually consumed.
This discovery is groundbreaking for understanding supermassive black holes and how stars are destroyed by them. Although scientists have theorized how this process works, this observation is the first of its kind. The team is already looking for similar events to further their research and knowledge.
source: Phys.org