2025-05-13T09:53:33Z

Astronomers have made an extraordinary discovery that is set to challenge long-established notions about the locations of black holes in the cosmos. For the first time, scientists have observed a supermassive black hole consuming a star situated outside the core of its host galaxy. This remarkable event, dubbed “AT2024tvd,” was detected an astounding 600 million light-years away and represents the first instance of an 'offset' tidal disruption event (TDE) captured by optical sky surveys.

The initial detection of this event was made by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a collaborative astronomical project that utilizes advanced technology to monitor fast-changing celestial phenomena. This finding was later confirmed using the capabilities of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The observations revealed an intense spectacle of a star being torn apart by what is referred to as a “wandering black hole,” which is estimated to weigh approximately 1 million times more than our Sun.

Yuhan Yao, the lead author of the study and an astrophysicist at the University of California, Berkeley, expressed the significance of this discovery, stating, “This is the first offset TDE captured by optical sky surveys. It opens up the entire possibility of uncovering this elusive population of wandering black holes.” The phenomenon of a black hole feeding on a star gives rise to a dramatic flare that is not only brighter but also hotter than a supernova, prompting a series of follow-up observations from astronomers around the globe.

Tidal disruption events occur when a star ventures too close to a black hole, leading to a process known as “spaghettification,” where the star is stretched and torn apart by the black hole’s immense gravitational forces. This process generates shock waves and releases significant bursts of energy, allowing telescopes to detect these events across various segments of the electromagnetic spectrum. The implications of this discovery may herald a new chapter in the study of black holes. Ryan Chornock, another member of the ZTF team, noted, “Now we can use TDEs to find them.”

To provide some context, a black hole is essentially a region in space where the gravitational pull is so intense that nothing—not even light—can escape. Black holes typically form after massive stars exhaust their nuclear fuel and collapse under their own gravity. Although black holes themselves are invisible due to the absence of light, astronomers can infer their presence by observing the effects they have on nearby stars and gas. For example, they can detect glowing disks of material that swirl around the black hole or notice unusual movement patterns in stars that are in close proximity.

Fortunately for us, the nearest known black hole is located thousands of light-years away, and even the wandering black hole involved in this recent discovery is safely hundreds of millions of light-years distant from Earth. This ensures that there is no immediate threat to our planet from these cosmic phenomena.