Black holes are the notorious loners of the universe since getting close to them usually means catastrophic destruction. The latest victim who attempted friendship with one of these hungry giants ended up causing the most energetic explosion to ever occur in the universe.
In a new study, published in Science Advances, a team of astronomers from the University of Hawai’i describes what they are calling “extreme nuclear transients” (ENTs). ENTs occur when stars more than three times the weight of the Sun get too close to a supermassive black hole. In response, the black hole slowly drains the life out of the star, creating a bright, energy surge unlike anything we’ve ever observed before.
“We’ve observed stars getting ripped apart as tidal disruption events for over a decade, but these ENTs are different beasts, reaching brightnesses nearly ten times more than what we typically see,” said Jason Hinkle, who led ...
