This doomed star keeps tripping over the shredded remains of its predecessor, and it’s kicking up flashes of x-rays.
At some point not very long ago in a galaxy relatively nearby, a star ventured too close to a black hole and got ripped apart by its tremendous tidal force. Another star, on its own death spiral toward the same fate, crossed the stream of blazing stellar debris and sparked cosmic fireworks in x-ray. The light show that unfolded is now offering physicists some important clues about general relativity and gravity.
