Most homicide cases involve finding the murderer, but this is the first time NASA have been able to identify a stellar homicide victim.
Black holes lurk quietly in the centre of most galaxies, shredding unsuspecting stars that get too close. This time the crime took place 2.7 billion lights years away, with a black hole ripping apart a star that was identified to be rich in helium gas.
NASA scientists also suspect that this was not the first time the star had a brush with a black hole. Lead researcher Suvi Gezari, from the John Hopkins University in the US, think that the hydrogen-filled envelope surrounding the star’s core was removed a long time ago by the same black hole.
Source: NASA
