Black hole detected ripping apart a star

[Dudley_DUright]

New X-ray observations by orbiting satellites have given astronomers their first telling evidence that appears to confirm what had been only theory: that a star is doomed if it ventures too close to a supermassive black hole.

NASA and the European Space Agency on Wednesday announced the detection of a brilliant flare of X-rays from the heart of a distant galaxy, followed by a fading afterglow.

After careful analysis, an international team of scientists concluded that the telescopes had witnessed the overpowering gravity of a black hole as it tore apart a star and gobbled up a hearty share of its gaseous mass.

It was an act of cosmic mayhem known as a "stellar tidal disruption." It removed any doubt, astronomers said, that the reputation of black holes as star-destroyers is fully deserved.

more...

http://www.iht.com/articles/130386.html

[Goldom]

1. AMAZING picture on CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/02/18/shc.blackhole.star/index.html

[Stoker]

2. Not a picture...

That is an illustration (an artists rendering), not a picture.

Stoker

[Goldom]

3. oops

k then. neat illustration. :)

[NNadir]

4. I hate it when a star gets ripped apart by a black hole.

I absolutely hate it. The black hole should be arrested and confined to Guantanamo without any rights.