Astronomers witness supermassive black hole tear star apart during violent galactic collision—here's what exactly happened in this rare tidal disruption event
A supermassive black hole ripping a star apart during a galaxy merger has given astronomers a rare and violent spectacle to study—one that could unlock new insights into how black holes influence their galaxies. This cosmic event, called a
tidal disruption event
(TDE), happened about 700 million light-years from Earth in a merging pair of galaxies.
The event, named AT 2022wtn, is only the second TDE ever seen in interacting galaxies, making it an extraordinary discovery. Scientists say it sheds light—quite literally—on how massive black holes feed, evolve, and possibly impact galactic development.
What exactly is a tidal disruption event and why is AT 2022wtn so rare?
A tidal disruption event occurs when a star strays too close to a supermassive black hole—an object millions or even billions of times heavier than the Sun. The black hole's gravitational pull is so intense that it rips the star apart, stretching and squeezing it in a process astronomers call spaghettification.
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In the case of AT 2022wtn, this violent dismemberment took place in a galaxy called SDSSJ232323.79+104107.7. This galaxy is currently colliding with a larger neighboring galaxy, at least ten times its size, in the early stages of a galactic merger. The merging process is believed to stir up activity near black holes, possibly triggering TDEs like this one.
The discovery of AT 2022wtn is crucial because, although galaxy mergers are common, seeing a TDE in one is extremely rare. That's what makes this observation so special.
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How did astronomers find out about this cosmic disaster?
The TDE was first spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which scans the sky for sudden bursts of light and unusual activity. From there, teams across the globe dug deeper, observing the event across the entire spectrum of light—from radio waves to X-rays.
The black hole at the center of this event is estimated to have a mass around 1 million times that of the Sun, and the unlucky star it consumed was a low-mass star. Researchers saw a massive burst of light when the star was torn apart, which temporarily outshone the entire galaxy it lived in.
What makes AT 2022wtn different from other star-eating events?
According to Francesca Onori from Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), this event showed features never seen this clearly before. She called it 'a peculiar event' and noted that its light curve stayed at peak brightness for about 30 days—a long time in TDE terms.
During that time, the temperature dropped sharply, and scientists detected specific emission lines in the light from the event—namely helium and nitrogen. This suggests very complex chemical activity and possibly a rapid formation of an accretion disk, a spinning cloud of material forming around the black hole from the remains of the star.
Onori added, 'We found clear traces of the dynamics of the surrounding material,' showing that stellar debris was being pushed outward rapidly, creating a kind of expanding bubble of gas.
What happens when a star becomes 'spaghetti'?
When a star ventures too close to a black hole, the difference in gravity between the side closest to the black hole and the side furthest away becomes extreme. This causes the star to be squeezed and stretched into long, thin strands—hence the term spaghettification.
In AT 2022wtn, this shredded material formed a whirling disk of plasma. Some of the star's material spiraled into the black hole, while other parts were blasted away into space as jets and high-speed outflows. The team also detected a brief burst of radio waves, confirming these explosive emissions.
Why is this discovery so important for science?
This rare black hole-star interaction not only gave scientists a detailed view of how TDEs form, but also helped them understand the physical conditions around black holes during galaxy mergers.
According to the research team, the study provides new evidence that supports the idea that galaxy collisions can trigger black holes to become more active. It also adds crucial data on how TDEs evolve, how accretion disks form, and how the resulting radiation is produced.
Their findings were published on May 23 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
A cosmic warning and a clue to galaxy growth?
While Earth is safe from such destruction (our Sun isn't near any massive black holes), these events serve as important reminders of the raw power of gravity and the extreme physics happening in deep space. More importantly, they give us clues about how black holes grow, how they interact with their environment, and how they may even shape the galaxies around them.
For astronomers, AT 2022wtn is more than a violent end for one star—it's a rare and valuable opportunity to study the life cycle of galaxies and the monstrous forces that control them.
FAQs:
Q1: What is a tidal disruption event in a galaxy merger?
A tidal disruption event is when a star gets torn apart by a supermassive black hole during a galactic collision.
Q2: Why is AT 2022wtn important for black hole research?
It's a rare case of a black hole eating a star during a galaxy merger, offering new insights into black hole behavior.
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