NASA observes a black hole destroying a star - comment from Dr David Brown
Commenting on the news that NASA has been able observe a black hole destroying a star, Dr David Brown of Warwick's Astronomy and Astrophysics Group said:
"When a star approaches too close to a black hole, it is gradually pulled apart by the black hole’s gravitational force, forming a disk of hot bright gas that is gradually consumed by the black hole. These events are only rarely observed, but can be a valuable tool for understanding the physics of black holes. This new observation provides an excellent opportunity to improve our knowledge of these ‘tidal disruption events’, as TESS provided data that allowed astronomers to study the event as it started, progressed, and began to wind-down.”
27 September 2019