BLACK HOLE DEVOURS BYPASSING STAR ILLUSTRATION (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

BLACK HOLE DEVOURS BYPASSING STAR ILLUSTRATION

Caption

This sequence of artist's illustrations shows how a black hole can devour a bypassing star. 1. A normal star passes near a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy. 2. The star's outer gasses are pulled into the black hole's gravitational field. 3. The star is shredded as tidal forces pull it apart. 4. The stellar remnants are pulled into a donut-shaped ring around the black hole, and will eventually fall into the black hole, unleashing a tremendous amount of light and high-energy radiation.

Credit

NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak (STScI)

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.