• 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.

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

Advert

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

Choose your content:

an hour ago
14 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Air India report finds what caused crash that killed 260

    Preliminary findings into the Air India crash have been released by authorities

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Scientists issue warning for surprising item people use that's 40 times dirtier than a toilet seat

    Scientists found that your travel companion is harboring a dirty secret

    News
  • 15 hours ago

    Bizarre photo of Trump as Superman shared by White House has people questioning one thing

    The image shared by the White House has left social media users confused

    News
  • 15 hours ago

    Friends and family of Idaho students killed by Bryan Kohberger explain why they thought they were 'next' in chilling new documentary

    The small Idaho community was racked with anxiety after a stranger murdered four college roommates while they slept in 2022

    News
  • Nearly 400 dead bodies found piled up at mysterious site at US and Mexico border
  • 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