A black hole by the name of AT2018hyz surprised researchers in 2021 when it started ‘burping’ up material three years after a Tidal Disruption Event (TDE) – a phenomenon that occurs when a black hole consumes a nearby star. This event was captured by the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico while studying the TDE of AT2018hyz.
Black holes are well-known for releasing light during a TDE, yet we have only detected it rather quickly after consuming a star. Researchers were surprised that the black hole had three years of radio silence before emitting any light. Even more fascinating, the star matter was recorded at 50% the speed of light – compared to the expected 10% speed of light the star matter usually is recorded at.
The next step for black hole researchers is exploring other TDEs years after their fruition to determine if this is a common occurrence. Want to learn more about black holes and this delayed emission of light? Click on the links below!
Astronomers baffled by black hole burping out spaghettified star years after eating it
Black hole is ‘burping out’ a ‘spaghettified’ star it devoured years ago
- Artist’s illustration of tidal disruption event AT2019dsg where a supermassive black hole spaghettifies and gobbles down a star. Image Credit: DESY, Science Communication Lab
