FIRST it ripped the body apart; then it ate the shreds. A giant black hole in a galaxy a billion light years away has been caught in the act of butchering a star – the first time this has been seen, astronomers announced this week.
It supports the idea that black holes all over the universe must be eating stars, a habit which may be their chief method of growth.
A powerful flare of X-rays was the star’s final scream. The flare, from the centre of a galaxy called RXJ 1242-1119, was thousands of times as bright as all the stars…
