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Astrophysics

Tidal Disruption Events: A Rare Cosmic Spectacle of Black Holes Devouring Stars

by Rosa
written by Rosa

Tidal Disruption Events: A Cosmic Spectacle

The Event: A Black Hole’s Stellar Feast

On February 11, 2022, an extraordinary cosmic event unfolded billions of light-years away from Earth. A star ventured too close to a supermassive black hole, resulting in a rare phenomenon known as a tidal disruption event (TDE).

During a TDE, the black hole’s immense gravitational forces shred the star, creating streams of matter called “spaghettification.” As this matter falls into the black hole, it releases a brilliant jet of energy that can be detected by astronomers.

The Discovery: A Bright Flash in the Darkness

The TDE, named AT 2022cmc, was first spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility astronomical survey. Its exceptional brightness immediately引起了注意，超过了伽玛射线暴的预期。

The Doppler-Boosted Jet: A Cosmic Lighthouse

Researchers soon discovered that the black hole’s jet was pointed directly at Earth, resulting in a “Doppler-boosting” effect. This effect made the jet appear even brighter, allowing astronomers to observe the TDE in unprecedented detail.

The TDE’s Significance: A Window into Supermassive Black Holes

TDEs are incredibly rare, with only a handful ever detected. AT 2022cmc’s unique characteristics provide valuable insights into the formation and development of supermassive black holes.

The Science Behind the Spectacle

Gravitational Forces and Spaghettification

The black hole’s gravitational forces are so intense that they can distort and stretch stars beyond recognition. This process, known as spaghettification, creates the thin streams of matter that feed the black hole.

Jet Formation and Doppler-Boosting

As the shredded star matter falls into the black hole, it releases energy in the form of a jet. If the jet happens to be pointed towards Earth, the Doppler effect amplifies its brightness, making it easier to observe.

The Role of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts are powerful explosions that occur when massive stars collapse. While AT 2022cmc’s brightness initially suggested a gamma-ray burst, further analysis revealed a different source: a supermassive black hole.

The Future of TDE Research

The discovery of AT 2022cmc has opened new avenues for studying TDEs and supermassive black holes. Astronomers are now using this event as a model to search for and characterize additional TDEs, providing a deeper understanding of these cosmic phenomena.

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Astronomy

The Brightest Object in the Universe: A Quasar 12 Billion Light-Years Away

by Rosa
written by Rosa

The Brightest Object in the Universe: A Glowing Quasar 12 Billion Light-Years Away

Astronomers have discovered the brightest known object in the universe, a quasar located 12 billion light-years away. This quasar, officially named J059-4351, is a glowing core of a galaxy that shines more than 500 trillion times brighter than our sun.

What is a Quasar?

Quasars are the brightest objects in the cosmos. They are powered by supermassive black holes that are actively devouring an orbiting disc of gas and dust. The friction created by the matter swirling around the black hole releases glowing heat that can be seen from far away.

The Record-Breaking Quasar

The quasar J059-4351 is the most luminous object ever observed. It is powered by a black hole that is gobbling up more than a sun’s-worth of mass every day, making it the fastest growing black hole scientists have ever seen.

The accretion disc around the black hole is 15,000 times the length between the sun and Neptune. The disc glows brightly as it releases unfathomable amounts of energy.

How Astronomers Found the Quasar

Researchers unknowingly spotted the ultra-bright quasar in images taken in 1980 by the Schmidt Southern Sky Survey, a telescope in Australia. However, they initially misidentified it as a star.

Typically, astronomers find quasars using machine-learning models trained to survey large areas of the sky for objects that look like known quasars in existing data. This makes it harder to spot unusually bright quasars that are unlike anything seen before.

Last year, the study authors determined that the object was in fact a quasar using a telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. They followed up with data from the Very Large Telescope in Chile to determine that the quasar was the brightest ever seen.

The Black Hole at the Center of the Quasar

The black hole at the center of the quasar J059-4351 weighs about the same as 17 billion suns. It is ravenous, consuming an amount of material equivalent to as much as 413 suns each year.

As the black hole consumes matter, it releases enormous amounts of energy. This energy heats the accretion disc to temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius and creates powerful winds that would go around Earth in a second.

The Future of the Quasar

The light from the quasar J059-4351 took about 12 billion years to reach us. This means that we are seeing the quasar as it existed 12 billion years ago.

At that time, the universe was much younger and more chaotic than it is today. There was more gas and dust floating freely around, which provided the black hole with a plentiful supply of food.

However, over time, much of the gas and dust in the universe has consolidated into stars and galaxies. This means that black holes no longer have as much material to feed on as they did in the early universe.

As a result, the black hole at the center of the quasar J059-4351 will eventually stop growing. Wolf believes that nothing will ever top this record for the universe’s brightest object.

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