Astronomers have seen a quiet supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy erupt jets of ultrahot gas, marking the first time a black hole ever "switched on" within human lifetimes.
Observations also hint at an unseen star that may be teetering on the brink of this black hole, but remarkably resisting being swept into the abyss. Studying this doom-defying star could provide long-sought insights into the elusive interactions between the cosmic behemoths and material in the surrounding gas disks that hold sway over their feeding behavior, researchers say.
