Big Gulp: Flaring Galaxy Marks the Messy Demise of a Star in a Supermassive Black Hole

Once in a while, a supermassive black hole gets a sumptuous treat . A passing star wanders too close and gets caught in the black hole's gravitational pull, like a fly trapped in a spider's web. The star then becomes an easy meal for the black hole, which tears its prey to bits and ingests a good portion of it.  [More]

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