Cosmic discovery solves black hole mystery that had perplexed scientists

A massive black hole has torn apart one star and is now using that stellar wreckage to pummel another star or smaller black hole in a discovery that solves a mystery which had perplexed astronomers for years (Data/Image Processing: M. Nicholl et al./NASA/CXC/PanSTARRS/NSF/Legacy Survey/SDSS/SAO/N. Wolk; Illustration: Soheb Mandhai/The Astro Phoenix/PA)

A massive black hole has torn apart one star and is now using that stellar wreckage to pummel another star or smaller black hole in a discovery that solves a mystery which had perplexed astronomers for years.

The breakthrough was made by an international team of astrophysicists, led by Queen’s University Belfast, using Nasa’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other state-of-the-art telescopes.