Wandering Supermassive Black Hole Caught Tearing Apart Star Far from Galaxy Core
NASA’s Swift telescope observed a rare tidal disruption event caused by a million-solar-mass black hole located tens of thousands of light-years from its galaxy’s center.
A bright ultraviolet flare spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility in a galaxy 750 million light-years away was identified as a tidal disruption event caused by a supermassive black hole far from the galaxy’s nucleus. The Swift Observatory’s UV and X-ray instruments measured a temperature of roughly 54,000 °F, confirming the star-shredding scenario. Spectra from the SOAR telescope and other facilities supported this interpretation.
Scientists propose the black hole was ejected during a merger of multiple galaxies or a dwarf galaxy’s assimilation, making it an “orphan” black hole. The find validates a novel AI-driven search technique for locating off-center black holes, and future surveys with the Rubin and Roman observatories aim to expand the census of such objects. Swift’s operations are temporarily paused for an orbital boost, after which it will resume hunting for more wandering black holes.
Why it matters
It proves a new way to locate hidden supermassive black holes outside galaxy centers, expanding our understanding of galaxy evolution.
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