Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star (Animation Only)

  • Released Wednesday, April 6, 2016
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A star approaching too close to a massive black hole is torn apart by tidal forces, as shown in this artist's rendering. Filaments containing much of the star's mass fall toward the black hole. Eventually these gaseous filaments merge into a smooth, hot disc glowing brightly in X-rays. As the disk forms, it's central region heats up tremendously, which drives a flow of material, called a wind, away from the disk.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab

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This page was originally published on Wednesday, April 6, 2016.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM EDT.

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