Hubble spots a rogue black hole ripping a star outside its galaxy’s center in the first known offset TDE, led by Dr. Yuhan Yao's team.
Hubble image reveals galaxy with wandering supermassive black hole
Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, Yuhan Yao (UC Berkeley)
Astronomers have revealed the occurrence of Space Jaws with the help of the Hubble telescope. There is a black hole caught from the home galaxy ripping a star. This is the first direct evidence of a huge black hole which is in action. Unique thing is that the black hole is not at the center of the galaxy, marked as the first incident in history. Dr. Yuhan Yao led the observations, postdoc fellow at University of California, together with Dr. Erica Hammerstein and Dr. Ryan Chornock.
According to a study at NASA using the Hubble Telescope, on February 22, 2025, a tidal disruption event known as TDE called AT2024tvd, spotted at 600 million light years away. The Zwicky Transient Facility caught the initial flare and the location has been reported using the Hubble Space Telescope. The black hole lies 2600 light years away from the core of the galaxy, where 100 million supermassive black holes lie. This black hole surprised the scientists as it is in the offset position and is wandering. However, astronomers say, the presence of two super massive black holes within a single galaxy is not unusual.
There are two main theories put forward by the scientists for explaining the dislocation. According to one theory, it formed by the remains of a smaller galaxy that blended with the current host, billions of years ago. The other theory says it was ejected from the centre of the galaxy at the time of violent three black hole interactions. Dr. Hammerstein could not detect any merger remnants through observations, yet the presence of two black holes in one galaxy is a revolution to the past.
The black hole shreds the star, and pulls it away through strong tidal forces and emits a bright flare. Such events not just indicate the happening of hidden black holes but too help the scientists study the physics of black holes in detail.
Astronomers expect to unveil more such TDEs which are offset using NASA's Roman SPace Telescope and Vera C. Rubin Observatory. There can be a possibility of hidden wandering supermassive black holes.
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