Black Hole Eats Star (IMAGE) Syracuse University Caption This illustration shows a glowing stream of material from a star as it is being devoured by a supermassive black hole in a tidal disruption flare. When a star passes within a certain distance of a black hole - close enough to be gravitationally disrupted - the stellar material gets stretched and compressed as it falls into the black hole. Credit NASAJPL-Caltech 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.