Universe Today
Tidal disruption event
A star wandering too close and being pulled apart, producing a flare that lasts months.
Inside a certain distance the difference in gravity across a star exceeds the star's own self-gravity and it is stretched into a stream of gas — spaghettification, in the popular phrase. Roughly half falls back onto the black hole and produces a brightening that rises over weeks and fades over months to years. They are the main way a dormant black hole announces itself, and wide-field surveys now find dozens a year where the total known was once a handful.
Where it has come up lately
AAS Nova
Universe Today
AAS Nova
AAS Nova
Related terms
Event horizon
The boundary around a black hole past which nothing gets out — not a surface, but a point of no return.
Accretion disc
The flat, ferociously hot spiral of matter falling onto a compact object.
Singularity
The point where our description of gravity stops producing meaningful answers.
Schwarzschild radius
How small you would have to squeeze something to make it a black hole.
Questions
What is Tidal disruption event?
A star wandering too close and being pulled apart, producing a flare that lasts months.
Why does it matter?
Roughly half falls back onto the black hole and produces a brightening that rises over weeks and fades over months to years. They are the main way a dormant black hole announces itself, and wide-field surveys now find dozens a year where the total known was once a handful.