A Black Hole Disrupts a Passing Star

What happens to a star that goes near a black hole? If the star directly impacts a massive black hole , then the star falls in completely -- and everything vanishes. More likely , though, the star goes close enough to have the black hole's gravity pull away its outer layers, or disrupt, the star . Then, most of the star's gas does not fall into the black hole . These stellar tidal disruption events can be as bright as a supernova, and an increasing amount of them are being discovered by automated sky surveys . In the featured artist's illustration , a star has just passed a massive black hole and sheds gas that continues to orbit. The inner edge of a disk of gas and dust surrounding the black hole is heated by the disruption event and may glow long after the star is gone. Hole New Worlds: It's Black Hole Week at NASA!