A China-led space telescope has captured an intermediate-mass black hole tearing apart a white dwarf star.
Sandeep K S
13 minutes ago
1 min read
Astronomers capture a groundbreaking event as a black hole devours a white dwarf, reaching a peak luminosity of \(3 \times 10^{49}\) erg/s. Detected by the Einstein Probe, this phenomenon provides key insights into intermediate-mass black holes, with a dramatic 20-day transition from high to low-energy states. Occurring on the galaxy's remote outskirts, this tidal disruption showcases unique cosmic interactions.
Researchers have found a candidate millisecond pulsar near the supermassive black hole at our galaxy's center—a potential "cosmic clock" to test Einstein's theories.Deep in the chaotic center of the Milky Way lies Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), a black hole 4 million times the mass of our sun. Finding a pulsar near this monster has been a holy grail for astronomers.
A China-led space telescope has captured a rare cosmic meal: an intermediate-mass black hole tearing apart a white dwarf star.On July 2, 2025, the Einstein Probe (EP) detected a flash so bright it defied explanation. It wasn't a standard gamma-ray burst. The X-ray signal appeared before the explosion, flared to immense brightness, and then vanished in just 20 days.
How did massive galaxies exist just after the Big Bang? New research reveals they didn't grow slowly—they exploded into existence. For two decades, astronomers have been puzzled by a timeline problem. Massive, "old" elliptical galaxies were found existing just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang. According to standard models, they shouldn't have had time to grow that big.
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