Rare Sight: Black Hole Caught in the Act of Swallowing Star
- Posted on August 26, 2011 at 12:45am by
Liz Klimas
- Print »
- Email »
Back in March, NASA scientists observed a huge cosmic blast in the the constellation Draco. The events that followed were a mystery to them, until now.
They have now confirmed that X-rays and gamma rays observed by NASA’s Swift satellite were the result of a black hole consuming a nearby star in another galaxy.
According to Space.com, until now scientists had only witnessed the aftermath of stars being consumed by black holes, and that this event is helping them understand ”relativistic jets,” bursts of matter that shoot out at nearly the speed of light. Scientists say these observations could help them identify similar outbursts.
At the time when initial observations were being made, astronomers said the blast was unusual because the gamma ray bursts lasted longer than similar events:
Usually, gamma-ray bursts mark the destruction of a massive star, but flaring emission from these events never lasts more than a few hours.
According to NASA, via Gizmodo, this is what scientists concluded in the months following:
As a star falls toward a black hole, it is ripped apart by intense tides. The gas is corralled into a disk that swirls around the black hole and becomes rapidly heated to temperatures of millions of degrees.
The innermost gas in the disk spirals toward the black hole, where rapid motion and magnetism creates dual, oppositely directed “funnels” through which some particles may escape. Particle jets driving matter at velocities greater than 80-90 percent the speed of light form along the black hole’s spin axis. In the case of Swift J1644+57, one of these jets happened to point straight at Earth.
Watch the simulation:
Here’s another visual:
Space.com reports that based on the observations by scientists, which were reported in two studies in Nature, that the black hole was about 1 million times more massive than the sun.




















Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (167)
captainbars
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:21am…….WHICH star did it swallow? Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Streisand, Oprah…doesn’t say. The whole acting community could be cleared out and I wouldn’t shed a tear. Course, we’d have a lot more gas in space, but it’d be worth it.
Report Post »e009061
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:56amIt swallowed them first but spit them back out! yuk
Report Post »Marcobob69
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 8:10amRight on! A sort of LIBERAL GASBAG!!! Guess that could qualify most of the Hollywood uber-elites, couldn’t it???
Report Post »LarryofArabia
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 8:49amActors suck.
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 9:57amActor = Nobody, Hard enough being yourself and do a good job.
Report Post »MontanaRob
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:07amAn actor makes a living playing “make believe”, which explains why they are primarily liberals.
Report Post »CLEttinger
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:45amMontanaRob – awsome comment.
Report Post »staggerlee32
Posted on August 28, 2011 at 11:24pmOprah didn’t fit
Report Post »cemerius
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 10:19amha ha ha ha….
Report Post »Will M.
Posted on September 2, 2011 at 11:00pm…and which Black Hole? Our President?
Report Post »cece959
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:18amAll I can say is WOW.
Report Post »sissygirl
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 9:25amThen I realized it was a simulation. See the note above the video. I thought it was the real thing.
Report Post »usmc1063
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:04amI have to admit many of the comments that were submited were quite amusing. But the the Heart of the matter God’s work is amazing. It is a testament of his True Glory. We may not understand all that he has done but that was his intent. As meer men we will never beable to unravel the great tapestry that he has woven. But at times like this he gives us glimpses of his greatness. Enjoy them and learn.
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:15amAMEn!
Report Post »holy ghostbuster
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:26amAnd we learned about evolution too.
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:32amNow! If they could just figure out “ Who ” does it they would find ” Salvation.”
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 8:27amBlack holes are known as God’s toilet bowl! If we keep screwing up….whoosh…!
Report Post »The Voice of Libertarian Reason
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 8:41amIt amazes me that in every instance the Blaze commentors seem to slide in a God comment. I don’t understand how you can look at that and think God set this solar system up (supposidly entirely for humans) and he built into his design these black holes that will ‘swallow’ up other parts of his design ….
Do you also think Dinosaurs never roamed the earth?
Sorry I know you have the right to think whatever you want to, but its one of those days I feel the need to point out obsurd comments.
Report Post »WhatsYerProblem
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 9:27am“It amazes me that in every instance the Blaze commentors seem to slide in a God comment. I don’t understand how you can look at that and think God set this solar system up (supposidly entirely for humans) and he built into his design these black holes that will ‘swallow’ up other parts of his design ….”
It amazes me that people like you can see how inconceivably HUGE and MASSIVE the universe is and think it all just happened by accident – that before all of the universe existed, there was just nothing and POOF! All of a sudden there is a universe with billions of galaxies and billions of stars in each galaxy. It is just as reasonable to ascribe this to “God” as it is to chance. One gives you life purpose and beauty – the other makes life meaningless and so very cold and dark. The real question is – why do you choose cold and dark?
“Do you also think Dinosaurs never roamed the earth?”
It’s pretty clear that dinosaur fossils point to the fact that dinosaurs did indeed roam the earth at one point. I guess in your mind that completely refutes the existence of God? How truly sad.
Report Post »InversionTheory
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:03am@ Voice
And that’s the problem with confirmation bias. I’m an atheist, so I see an amazing natural phenomenon that I want to understand and harness. A Christian sees an amazing natural phenomenon and sees it as proof of God.
What is the truth? Heck if I know, I just form a theory and see if the data fits. If it does, I keep the theory until it proves itself to be false or incomplete, then I dump it in favor of a better theory.
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:17amKinda like the darkness of a mans heart swallowing the light of Gods Word.
Report Post »How that video ends is quite interesting?
4truth2all
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:25amYo Inversiontheory;
So ALL you END up with is a THEORY.
In REALITY, that means you actually get nowhere,
just further down the wrong path.
Of course that all depends on the truth of the bible
which in FACT at no point has yet to have been disproven.
………………………A theory disproves nothing…………………………..
Report Post »Evil_Conservative
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:28am@InversionTheory
actually your response indicates an agnostic, not atheist.
I am of the belief that Cosmology and the “Big Bang” are proof of creation. Consider, what was before the bang? The idea of “Nothing” is rediculous. Matter is lots of energy. E = M*c^2. Energy isn’t confined by volume such as matter. Cooling energy(originating at the center of the beginning – Big Bang) sufficient to form the entire Universe could only be described as Godly.
Report Post »ConservDadASD
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:35am@ Voice of Libertarian Reason who said “Do you also think Dinosaurs never roamed the earth?”
Actually they did and as much as it pains you to hear… they also walked among mankind.
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:39amUSMC1063…You are so right!!!
Report Post »ASHA
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 11:06amI find it interesting that all these people talk about politics when this has nothing to do with it. And then when someone mentions God (which is all that I see in this) you‘ve got some one else saying that they can’t see God in this asserting on one hand that everyone has a right to think for themselves but at the same time imposing what they think is RIGHT. So is it chaos then? If it is then that persons opinion on what everyone thinks concerning this amazing display is chaotic. It reminds me of all those atheist that write those big books about have life has no meaning expecting the whole time that their book has meaning. I found all of this fascinating until I started reading all these posts. It seems to me that no matter what no one will be satisfied.
Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 11:06amSo many attempts to use this as an illustration of God’s greatness–or his nonexistence.
So many attempts to use it as an opportunity for yet another jab at Obama, libs, etc.
Why no appreciation of the fact that we may be seeing (long after the event) jillions of sentient beings being swept to oblivion?
Report Post »Dr.Doofenschmirtz
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 11:24am@InversionTheory
I believe you are an honest Atheist. It appears that you can respect other people coming to different conclusions because they’ve either obtained different evidence or interpreted it differently.
Here’s a something you may not have thought about: You can’t cross an infinity – we can’t have an infinite past. Since we’re here, we had to start sometime. Think of it this way, pick the largest number you can think of and multiply it by 10,000,000,000,… it still ends up as a number. If “stuff” (matter) had been around that entire time, all sorts of things could have happened. But the question is not what could have happened, but when did it START? When was time zero? And what happened before that? Who/what/what process made that happen? If you’re a Big Bang believer, what happened before that? Where did that stuff come from? When you noodle all that out, there has to be someone/something outside of time to get the party started.
Once you get there, you’ve acknowledged that there is a god of some sort. Then of course, your task is to figure out which god it is. I submit to you that after you’ve examined THAT evidence, you’ll find that the God of the Bible is the one true God. And you‘ll also find that the Bible is true and that it is against God’s nature to lie, so history becomes a little easier to determine. But again, you have to start somewhere….
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 11:59amYo Dr. Doofenschmirtz:
It is to the glory of God to conceal a matter.
it is to the glory of KINGS to search that matter out!
Seek and ye shall find.
Report Post »For those willing it is an investigation. You laid it out well.
RavenGlenn
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 2:52pm@ EVIL_CONSERVATIVE:
I hear this said a lot by religious people as a means to discredit the scientific theories that speak as to where the universe comes from.
Just because it isn‘t know where it came from or how the big bang came to happen doesn’t mean that it is wrong. We didn’t know what air was or how to make fire at some point, it doesn‘t mean it didn’t exist or required a ‘God’s hand.
But, the way I tend to refute your question of what came before the Big Bang, is this: What came before God? If you can’t answer that, then there is no point to asking your own question of what came before the Big Bang. The usual answer I receive is that God has always existed. If that’s the answer, then the universe has always existed and we just don’t understand it yet.
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 3:29pm@whatsyerpoblem -”One gives you life purpose and beauty – the other makes life meaningless and so very cold and dark. The real question is – why do you choose cold and dark?”
This is called believer ignorance… So you’re assuming not believing in god makes life meaningless and this is choosing “cold and dark” I know Einstein/hawking(non-believers who love life) would vehemently disagree with you as do I and many agnostics/atheists. There is nothing cold and dark about their awe of the universe (which includes life). If you choose not to believe you don’t choose cold and dark you choose “truth.” You choose admiration the Universe and the mystery it is.. You choose the “unknown.” You choose to accept it and embrace it. You acknowledge that “not knowing” the answers for existence is a very real “truth.” Then, you seek for truth… This is called science.. If you claim to have exclusive truth about an intelligent creator from an old bible with compelling words you are a liar.
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 3:29pm“I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.” -Albert Einstein
Report Post »4truth2all
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:11pmYo Cesium:
I do not know about the life of Einstein, but I heard it said that his opinion changed latter in life. Don’t know if that is true. Having said that his mathematical genius equates to that and nothing more. God is not impressed with our intellegence.I can make a baseball bat for it’s intended purpose and it can be completely misused by a genius.
As far as being happy or sad in life it is in some ways irrelevant. But I would tell you that I would rather live this life in misery and gain eternal joy than the opposite.
What good does it do for a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul!
Science cannot prove creation/ evolution by it’s own definition… so you have the same issue as me….faith in what you believe. We will see who the last man standing is, and by the way things are going it’s going to be sooner than latter!
Report Post »Dr.Doofenschmirtz
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 11:24pm@ravenglenn
It is true that God has always existed. But the difference between God and the universe is intelligence. God created order out of nothing. The universe cannot create order at all ( that’s the second law of thermodynamics- that entropy always increases unless acted upon by an outside [intelligent] agent).
Also, science depends on an ordered system of laws. If those laws change, then nothing is knowable. So, who created those very orderly laws of physics whose properties spun us from matter (or energy if you prefer) to typing on a website today? The order (according to the second law of thermodynamics) must have come from an OUTSIDE agent.
Science requires consistent physical laws and you can’t have that without a god.
Report Post »Bill Rowland
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:57amCan we get congress in session and the POTUS back from vacation and get the black hole to swallow DC.
Report Post »The earthquake followed by the hurrricane should tell them that god doesn’t like them.
CatB
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:45amMore proof of “man made global warming” ? No doubt ALGORE an his followers will try to make “the case”!
TEA!
Report Post »ecurbyy
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 8:23amThis storm is right on time. It could be Obummers salvation, and put Algore back in the money. Now they can blame the economy and high unemployment on global warming. But. of course, they’ll still blame global warming on Bush.
Report Post »ConservDadASD
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 10:47amYou hit the nail right in the head. It points to something more serious than global warming. Now we are talking about not only Galactic Warming… but Intergalactic Warming. The greenhouse gases that our autos are spewing out are warming up our planet to such a degree that it’s causing the overall average temperature of the universe to increase to unsafe levels. Soon the Algorkins will be heading to our world to issue stern warnings to cease all carbon based combustion or else.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 11:12amIf this turns into a real disaster, and if Obama can manage to appear even marginally less clueless than GWB after Katrina, comparisons will be made for political purposes!
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:42amI don’t know what NASA is so excited about, a BLACK hole has been consuming the USA for almost 3 years now…PSST, point your telescopes at Washington DC!
Report Post »Obama_Sham
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:53amlol
Report Post »Your Name Here
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:05amAwesome! I was thinking the exact same thing.
Report Post »I think we actually have binary black holes.
Michelle can make taxpayer money disappear almost as fast as Barack can and she fits the Russian‘s slang meaning of the phrase ’black hole’ a lot better.
bts61240
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 8:14amWell your half right! :-)
Report Post »trashtocash
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:19pmexcellent comment—very funny
Report Post »ddg7
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 4:01pmWhat goes on in their bedroom is nobody’s business but their own.
Report Post »Socialism-Sucks
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:34amSerious racism here …..Lets set up a Federal Agency with 50 levels that employ 500 people each that get the name changed to DARK HOLE. Sounds like job creation to me! GO OBOMBER!!
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:44amPlease don’t give Obummer or Shilea Jackson Lee any ideas!
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:12amSocialism-Sucks,
Report Post »I seriously wouldn’t be surprised. I know PETA wanted to make them change the name of Fishkill New York because they thought it had something to do with killing fish.
Patrick Flynn
Posted on August 29, 2011 at 11:52pmI believe Dark Hole would be just as offensive as Black Hole, maybe the title should be Negative Energy Hole
Report Post »mikee1
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:54amThat is the power of GOD’s UNIVERSE. And fools like gore tell you to be worried about man-made global warming. LOL. Did you know that everything within 100 LIGHT YEARS OF A SUPER NOVA IS VAPORIZED? Oh, yeah, God can get rid of this little old planet anytime HE wants to do so.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:04am… I always heard black holes was what ya found on the eastside of Chicago …
Report Post »oldsoldier10
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:13ama black hoe spent O’Bama stimulius money, that’s why we have flash mobs
Report Post »Cesium
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 3:30pm“I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature.” Albert Einstein
Report Post »Ron_WA
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:48amWay cool animation
Report Post »Miami
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:40amI’ve seen this act before,
The federal reserve destroying our money and redistributing it
Report Post »Miami
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:46amIt should no longer be called a Black Hole, that could be considered racist?
They should be named Liberal Holes, money goes and is never seen again
Report Post »Twysted1
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 7:16amNo, watch the simulation… A significant amount of the money would collect around the black hole and orbit and the rest would get shot out at the speed of light… Your analogy works.
Report Post »Dr Vel
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:30amProphet_Riel
“This is the same way Satan is going to be DEVOURED”
Then your not much of a Prophet considering the bible does not say it happens this way. A fire consumes satan from within. Right here on earth. Now if a black hole were on earth who would be around to see it? If you are claiming to be a prophet at least get your story right!
Report Post »billwhit1357
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:21amAmazing! Is there any way we can blame the destruction of that star on Obama? Guess not, huh? Damn! I guess we can only blame him for the destruction of America, then, so be it! Dear God, thank you in advance for letting someone besides our Enemy, B. Hussein Obama, win in 2012! Your Power is Great! Amen!
Report Post »Quagmir
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:32amUm no…. This is obviously global warming.
Report Post »pazzo242
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 6:52amWe can’t blame Obummer for destroying a star but I am sure he will blame Bush for it.
Report Post »RebelSon
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 9:36amNo way that was Obama’s fault! Everything that has ever happened or ever will happen is Bush’s fault!
Report Post »Ok, if that’s true, then why are all the stars being sucked toward DC for a $10k per plate (served “Buffet” style, plenty of baloney) fundraiser?
chipmunk
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 3:43amThia is cool. & beyond my comprehension.
Report Post »PAJoe
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 2:48amMmm! Black hole swallowing…been there done that.
Report Post »Minefield
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 2:25amOur money sure is going in to a black hole. SIGH!
Report Post »The46Percent2008
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:52amAmazing how there’s no video. “We are reporting that a black hole has swallowed a star!” That’s good Jim, but have you any evidence that this happened? “No, Tim! But I am REPORTING that we saw it. Pretty Incredible!”
Report Post »bates8963
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 5:37amWhat’s wrong with you people? Oh… where is the live video of the event?! ……without it, the scientific claim is obviously bogus….. common…… You morons need to understand that God’s universe is violent and creative…. The stuff you are made of comes from these and millions of exploding stars…. heavy metals and most all of the elements only exist in the heart of stars. When they super nova, those elements are spread throughout space. When earth was formed, elements above hydrogen, including carbon, oxygen, and all the other elements were seeded into the universe from dying stars. God is truly a great engineer….. these events are part of his design…. without the substance from His cake-mix, life on earth would not be possible. So, the next time you look at your gold ring, thank God for his wisdom in his design of our universe…. strong and weak nuclear force, magnetism, and gravity…… the forces of creation! (also the 4 laws of thermodynamics….). Worship Him in His wisdom!!!!! …. and stop doubting Him!!!…and celebrate when we mere mortals actually see His hand in action!!!…even if through only a telescope…….
Report Post »Captain Crunch
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:52amTired of their stupid animations. They continue to try to tickel our imagination with outer space crap just to distract us from the real problems right here on earth. What’s the sense of it when they deny the one who created it all. The fact that we are capable of discovering these things is proof that we have characteristics of God built into us, but they will deny it to the death.
Report Post »BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:50am“They have now confirmed that X-rays and gamma rays observed by NASA’s Swift satellite were the result of a black hole consuming a nearby star in another galaxy.”
Almost 6-months after the fact they can determine what happened? Doesn‘t sound like NASA’s Swift satellite is too swift at all.
Report Post »cookcountypatriot
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:37amwho believes this drivel…..how come they moniter it and we cant see it…its a crock…
Report Post »Hobbs57
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:24amNo more NASA — But, are they going to show us the actual video they caught or what … What a rip off …lol
Report Post »Rampart
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:37amAnd here I thought I was going to see some good porn–Halle Berry and Tommy Lee perhaps!?! Bummer…
Report Post »Sy Kosys
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:17amIt‘s Bush’s fault…..
Report Post »GHill7.62
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:26amThe current administration has an external view of it’s role (at least to the public) in the sense that all good outcomes are because of them and all bad outcomes are most definitely not their fault.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 2:06am@Walkwithme1966
Now I know why you never reply to any replies to any of your drivel.
You post only to lure people to your moronic “Blog”
I will be calling KRAFT to tell them I will no longer purchase their cheese for advertising with you.
Report Post »peergynttroll
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:11amMmm… I’m skeptical about all this. About every picture of every breathtakingly beautiful star and galaxy and cloud in space (all colorized, btw): they’re TOO perfect. This latest is too much like movie sfx. It’s all too convenient, too colorful, too WOW. It’s called: Keep the public dazzled, keep them believing in the product/progress, and keep government/donor $$$$$$ (*especially* in the bad times) pouring in….
Report Post »HUNITHUNIT
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:15amits an animation moron, of course it looks good.
RepubliCorp
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:03am“BLACK HOLE CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF SWALLOWING STAR” what a racist statement!
Report Post »carnifex
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:18amOkay this may be a dumb question but…the article said that scientist had seen the results of this but never the actual event. So how often does this sort of thing happen? Are we flying around in a giant colander of black holes? The scientist are always going on about the missing mass. Is it floating around us as invisible “Bermuda triangles” of catastrophe?
Report Post »Freedom Keeper
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 12:51amWow. All Gods Creation too. AMAZING
Report Post »afishfarted
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:03amI think we found a plce for Obie, Soros. Nancy, Maxine, Barney,—gee the list is long. BUt THERE’S a stimulus bill I wouldnt object to !
Report Post »REDBLOODEDHUSKER
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 1:03amAnd you know why God ended up creating black holes? He tried dividing by zero! Sorry, a little late night math humor for you!
Report Post »Enuff Zenuff
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 4:38am@redbloodedhusker
Report Post »That was a good one! – Thanks for the late night laugh
LibertyWon
Posted on August 26, 2011 at 12:51amI thought this might have been an article on the new mobile web format for The Blaze.
Report Post »Whatever happened to Beta Testing?