• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Mysterious black hole has been found pointing directly at Earth blasting light at us

Home> News

Updated 21:11 30 Nov 2022 GMTPublished 21:10 30 Nov 2022 GMT

Mysterious black hole has been found pointing directly at Earth blasting light at us

This is the first time scientists have seen a black hole use light

Ben Thompson

Ben Thompson

Astronomers have identified a blast of visible light as having come from a black hole pointed directly towards Earth.

No, this isn't something out of a sci-fi film. The incredible discovery marks the first time scientists have seen a black hole use light, prompting excitement as it came from a region of space where no light had been observed before.

These findings have been recorded in two scientific journals - one in Nature in an article entitled 'A very luminous jet from the disruption of a star by a massive black hole', and another in Nature Astronomy called '‘The Birth of a Relativistic Jet Following the Disruption of a Star by a Cosmological Black Hole'.

Advert

B.A.E. Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo

The light reportedly gives off more light than one trillion suns. Pretty impressive, to be fair.

It came about after a star drew too close to a black hole and was torn apart, the resulting blast being seen throughout the universe.

This event is known as a tidal disruption event (TDE). In about one percent of cases, plasma and radiation is sent out of both sides of the black hole.

Advert

Alamy

The light which reached Earth is believed to have started its journey when the universe was a third of its current age.

An unusual thing about this TDE was that it was so bright - primarily because of it being directed towards the Earth. This meant it was a more intense episode.

This TDE took place in February as scientists turned their telescopes - among the most advanced in the world - towards the source.

Advert

Astronomers are hoping this most recent activity can be studied in order to learn more about TDES, so they can be better understood.

Last month, astronomers were left scratching their heads after a supermassive black hole essentially 'burped' up a star that it had 'eaten' three years ago.

Back in 2018, scientists witnessed a small star in a galaxy 665 million light years away from Earth get torn to shreds when it got a little too close to a black hole - which, at the time, was nothing out of the ordinary.

Advert

But in June 2021, astronomers were caught 'completely by surprise' when that same black hole lit up the skies by spitting out stellar matter.

This was particularly strange to experts, since the black hole hadn't swallowed anything new since its 2018 feast.

“This caught us completely by surprise — no one has ever seen anything like this before,” said Yvette Cendes, the lead author of a new study analysing the phenomenon.

Featured Image Credit: Elen / Darryl Fonseka / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Science, Space

Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • NASA finds unknown object in deep space that's sending mysterious signals to Earth every 44 minutes
  • Astronomers claim they've detected 'signs of life' on planet that's only 120 light years from Earth
  • Chilling simulation shows what would happen to our bodies if we fell into a black hole
  • Scientists left baffled after discovering lone black hole floating through space

Choose your content:

6 mins ago
an hour ago
2 hours ago
16 hours ago
  • 6 mins ago

    Unbelievable cost of Jeff Bezos' and Lauren Sanchez's wedding 'revealed' as activists protest against event

    Reportedly the celebrity pair are set to wed in the coming days

    Celebrity
  • an hour ago

    Terrifying moment CNN anchor forced to evacuate set while reporting live on-air from Israel

    Anderson Cooper was reporting from Israel as air raid sirens started going off

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Iran issued chilling warning days before attack telling Trump exactly what it would do if he ordered strike

    President Trump described the strike on Iran as a 'very successful attack'

    News
  • 16 hours ago

    TSA issues warning as it bans passengers from taking nine bizarre items on planes

    If you're vacationing soon, you might want to double check that you don't have any of these items in your luggage

    News