Scientists detect a middle weight black hole devouring a star out in deep space

Scientists have detected a black hole more than a million light years away from Earth engulfing a star, causing what researchers refer to as a "Tidal Disruption Event".

The new study published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy details that Tidal Disruption Events happen when a black hole sucks up a nearby star, essentially shredding all of its available matter and energy much like a paper being put through a shredder. Throughout this process a blast of radiation and energy can be released by the black hole and that's exactly what caught astronomers' eyes when this middle-weight black hole consumed a star within the distant dwarf galaxy.

Researchers believe that measuring the blast of radiation will allow them to learn more about black holes and their relationship within dwarf galaxies. In particular, the researchers say that blast caused by the Tidal Disruption Event can provide insight into how researchers measure black hole in the future as well as how black holes go about consuming nearby stars.

"Tidal disruption events, the luminous flares produced when a star strays close to a BH and is shredded, are a direct way to probe massive black holes (BHs). The rise times of these flares theoretically correlate with the BH mass. Here we present AT 2020neh, a fast-rising tidal disruption event candidate, hosted by a dwarf galaxy," wrote the researchers.

If you are interested in learning more about black holes, or would like to check out the study for yourself, you can read it here.