Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and ESA’s XMM-Newton, researchers have gained new insights into how and when a supermassive black hole consumes material. Their findings, detailed in a paper on the arXiv preprint server and set to be published in *The Astrophysical Journal*, focus on the black hole in the system AT2018fyk, located about 860 million light-years from Earth.
The team discovered that a star in AT2018fyk is on a highly elliptical orbit around the black hole. As the star approaches the black hole, tidal forces pull material from it, creating “stellar debris” that the black hole consumes during each close encounter. This process repeats every 3.5 years, with X-ray and UV light emissions indicating the star’s ongoing destruction.
First observed in 2018, the system’s brightness surged due to a tidal disruption event (TDE), signaling that the star had been partially ingested. However, contrary to initial expectations, the star survived and continued its orbit, losing more material during subsequent encounters.
Researchers predicted that the black hole’s “second meal” would conclude in August 2023, a prediction confirmed by Chandra’s observations. The team now anticipates a third, smaller feeding event between May and August 2025.
This study not only enhances our understanding of black hole behavior but also provides a rare opportunity to observe the gradual destruction of a star over multiple orbits.
