The Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories have “captured” something truly eerie—the “remains” of a massive star, 14 times the size of the Sun, scattered across the universe.
Chandra and XMM-Newton are powerful X-ray observatories operated by NASA and ESA (the space agencies of the United States and Europe) that witnessed the haunting moment of ASASSN-14li, a recently identified victim of a supermassive black hole, according to Live Science.
“Portrait” of the “mysterious flame” ASASSN-14li – (Image: NASA / CXC / University of Michigan / Miller et al. / M. Weiss).
Previously, ASASSN-14li erupted like a ghostly, terrifying flame in 2014, recorded by the ASASSN project at Ohio State University, involving 20 robotic telescopes.
At that time, scientists were bewildered and could not definitively identify what it was, but now the answer has been revealed.
“We are witnessing the nature of what used to be a star. The elements left behind are clues we can trace to find out what type of star has died,” said Dr. Jon Miller from the University of Michigan, the lead researcher on ASASSN-14li.
This event is valuable in two ways: First, scientists have had the opportunity to witness one of the most severe star disruption events by a black hole, and second, the type of star that was the “victim” this time is extremely rare.
It is also the most substantial “meal” of a black hole ever known.
Moreover, the “remains” of the unfortunate star that scientists observed are not the typical material ejected everywhere.
The two super powerful observatories unintentionally captured the “insides” of the star still trapped in the black hole. This means they looked inside the black hole.
The power of the black hole, combined with the immense energy of the star, created a terrifying explosion, making it easier for observation.
This is also the closest star disruption event by a black hole captured in the last decade, located in a galaxy 290 million light-years away from us, according to Sci-News.
