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Back Supermassive black hole with torn-apart star (artist's impression)

Supermassive black hole with torn-apart star (artist's impression)


Date: 11 December 2016
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: ASASSN-15lh
Copyright: ESA/Hubble, ESO, M. Kornmesser

This artist's impression depicts a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole surrounded by an accretion disc. This thin disc of rotating material consists of the leftovers of a Sun-like star which was ripped apart by the tidal forces of the black hole. Shocks in the colliding debris as well as heat generated in accretion led to a burst of light, resembling a supernova explosion.

Last Update: 1 September 2019
24-Jan-2026 11:57 UT

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