NASA has released a jaw-dropping animation showing what may be one of the rarest cosmic events ever witnessed — a black hole ripping a star to shreds. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, scientists believe they captured a tidal disruption event, where a star wandered too close to an intermediate-mass black hole and was completely devoured.
This rare black hole, dubbed HLX-1, sits on the edge of a galaxy called NGC 6099 — around 450 million light-years away. As the star approached, it was stretched into a long strand of stellar material in a process known as spaghettification, before vanishing in a bright flash of radiation.
The dramatic moment happened hundreds of millions of years ago, but now, we get to witness it thanks to cutting-edge space technology and simulation. While there’s still a chance HLX-1 might be something else, scientists are hunting for more of these elusive black holes before they feast again. WooGlobe Ref : WGA575626 For licensing and to use this video, please email licensing@wooglobe.com
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