The star that remains is bound to the black hole on an orbit that resembles a ... phases of the TDE as the debris stream settles into its accretion flow," Hinkle said. "This is something that ...

This is also unprecedented behavior for a black hole. If these weird episodes are the result of an orbiting white dwarf, a type of stellar remnant left behind when a star with around the mass of ...

At first, it appeared to be an average "run-of-the-mill" TDE (if a black hole snacking on a star could ever be described as run-of-the-mill, that is!). However, 720 days later, while Hinkle and ...

Then, as it gets closer, the star is quite literally ripped apart and sucked into the black hole itself. This process is formally called a tidal disruption event. Now, NASA is hoping to learn more ...

Observations also hint at an unseen star that may be teetering on the brink of this black hole, but remarkably resisting being swept into the abyss. Studying this doom-defying star could provide ...

While the black hole's gravity may pull the white dwarf inward, the star is also shedding part of its outer layer into the black hole. This shedding acts as a small kick-back, such that the white ...

If Earth was (hypothetically) crushed into a black hole ... An artist's rendering of a white dwarf star speeding around the black hole 1ES 1927+654. A stream of particles trails the dense star.

A small black hole would plunge straight into the event horizon, while a normal star would quickly be torn apart by tidal forces. But astronomers theorize that a low-mass white dwarf, a compact ...

From unifying quantum physics and gravity to working out what is dark matter, the universe has some deep questions that ...

As far as supermassive black holes go, the one at the center of the Milky Way is relatively sedate. But, even in its supposed quiescent state, Sagittarius A* is prone to the occasional belch or ...