What goes into a black hole, stays in the black hole, or so science would have you believe. The monster cosmic creatures devour anything that is unlucky to cross paths with them, releasing only a burp of the remaining matter. However, in a strange discovery, scientists say that a black hole ate the same star twice in a difference of two years. A team of astronomers, led by researchers from Tel Aviv University, noticed a flare released by a black hole while gobbling up a star. It didn’t look right as they had seen something similar two years ago. A flare named AT 2022dbl was seen at the exact same spot earlier as well. Upon further inspection, it was revealed that the star that was pulled into the cosmic monster the first time was not killed entirely. A major portion of it survived the encounter. But, instead of scampering away from the black hole, it returned almost on the same path, and this time met its end at the hands of this hungry giant. They published their study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Also Read: Between Japan and Alaska, a dark alien world at 31,000 feet has stunned scientists. Here’s why
How did a black hole eat a star twice?
Every galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its centre. Every 10,000 to 100,000 years, a star wanders too close to it and is pulled in by its gravitational force. A major portion of it is ripped into shreds, while some of it is thrown outside. When this even happens, huge amounts of heat and light are released, illuminating for weeks and even months. This is how scientists on Earth see a star being swallowed by a black hole. Two years ago, they saw it happening at this point in space, naming the flare released AT 2022dbl. What was odd was that its brilliance and temperature were not as expected. When the same thing happened at the same place two years later, they knew what was happening. The black hole only ate a part of the star, indicating partial disruption. The rest of the star wandered off, only to return again and become a proper meal for the black hole. Also Read: Scientists say Canadian fault line dormant for 40 million years is stewing, warn of major earthquake
Will there be a third flare?
The team thinks that there is a possibility of a third flare. “The question now is whether we’ll see a third flare after two more years, in early 2026,” says Professor Iair Arcavi from Tel Aviv University’s Astrophysics Department. “If we see a third flare, it means that the second one was also the partial disruption of the star. So maybe all such flares, which we have been trying to understand for a decade now as full stellar disruptions, are not what we thought.” If there is no third flare, then the star has fully died. He says the observation shows that partial and complete disruption look almost the same. Arcavi added that this event will “re-write our interpretation of these flares”, and can teach more about these cosmix monster waiting for food at the centre of the galaxies.