Astronomers have spotted a black hole mysteriously spewing up chunks of a devoured star several years after consuming it.
The event, which scientists have classified as AT2018hyz, began in 2018 when astronomers saw the black hole ensnare a hapless star in its strong gravitational pull before shredding it to pieces. Then, three years later, in 2021, a New Mexico radio telescope picked up a signal indicating unusual activity — the black hole had begun burping the star out at half the speed of light.
Black holes have previously been spotted gobbling down stars before vomiting them out, but until now, the ejection has only ever taken place at the same time as the meal. The researchers used four Earth-based observatories located around the globe and two observatories in space to spot the event; they published their findings Oct. 11 in The Astrophysical Journal.
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