Scientists have spotted what can only be described as an invisible space 'monster' over 600,000,000 light-years away, and it's somehow consuming every star it faces on its path throughout the galaxy.
While the nature of being sucked into a black hole is scary in of itself, certain simulations have shown exactly how horrifying the experience would be if you were at the heart of it all.
Black holes themselves are formed following the explosion of stars, as the remains are so dense that nothing can escape being sucked into the nothingness, dramatically distorting as a consequence of an extreme gravitational pull.
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Black holes, especially those of the supermassive variety, are typically found at the center of their galaxy, but astronomers have only recently discovered an area of space that features a second, smaller black hole lurking at the edge of it's area, consuming all stars that are unlucky enough to encounter it.
As reported by Tech Explorist, this black hole in question was discovered after a recent tidal disruption event (AT2024tvd), where a star was consumed, unleashing a bright blaze of radiation.
What alerted scientists to the absurdity of this particular tidal disruption event was its location, as it occurred roughly 2,600 light-years outside of the galactic core which is rather uncommon as that would signal that it was paired with the central supermassive black hole.
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However, it remains separate and gravitationally distinct, which is largely why it's been considered to be 'invisible' from the view of many astronomers looking into the area before the recent discovery.
It was initially spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility at Caltech's Palomar Observatory, who noted a flare that exuded extreme heat alongside emission lines of hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, and silicon.
From there, NASA used both the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory in order to get clearer images and information from this strange and separate black hole, wandering separately from the galactic core.
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Researchers have speculated that it could eventually work its way inward and mere with the central supermassive black hole, but the cause of its creation remains still up in the air for many.
Some estimate that it was flung out into the wider areas of the galaxy following a three-body interaction, whereas others suggest that it could be the leftovers of a smaller galaxy from billions of years ago that has been slowly drifting towards the host over time.