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Space
Space
Science
Robert Lea

Star escapes ravenous supermassive black hole, leaving behind its stellar partner

An illustration shows a star escaping consumption by a black hole as its binary partner is devoured.

Astronomers have watched as a supermassive black hole enjoying a stellar meal flashed twice in a rare and powerful event.

This double-flash Tidal Disruption Event (TDE) could result from the black hole catching binary stars, allowing one to escape and then devouring the other. If so, further observation of this event, designated ASASSN-22ci, could solve the mystery of repeating TDEs.

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