Excerpt
Astronomers have spotted a black hole so ravenous, it’s pushing the limits of physics
Astronomers have discovered a giant black hole that's so hungry, it's been gorging on a star for more than a decade — more than 10 times longer than any stellar meal detected before.Not only is this by far the largest meal a black hole has been seen consuming, but the feast has been going on so long that scientists aren't quite sure how it's been sustained without bending the laws of physics. And the answer could tell us how black holes in the early days of the Universe grew more massive than we've been able to explain.
When a star gets too close to a black hole, the black hole's immense gravitational force can rip the star apart — an event known as a tidal disruption event (TDE).We've seen plenty of these TDE's in the past, thanks to the distinct X-ray flare they produce. After the black hole destroys a star, it flings some of its contents into space at high speeds, and devours the rest, growing larger and blasting out a super hot flare of X-ray radiation in the process.But most TDEs are short-lived affairs, which is why the new observation is so surprising.
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