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
