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Black Hole Devours Star, Blasts Light Beam at Earth

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COVENTRY, England, June 22, 2011 — The flash from one of the biggest and brightest bangs yet recorded originated with a massive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy that appears to have ripped apart a star that wandered too close. Some 3.8 billion years later, astronomers at the University of Warwick observed the resulting powerful beam of energy that made its way to Earth. The high-energy x-rays and gamma rays emitted by the black hole persisted at an extremely bright level for weeks after the event, with bright flares arising when further chunks of the star apparently fell into the black hole. At optical and...Read full article

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    Published: June 2011
    Glossary
    astronomy
    The scientific observation of celestial radiation that has reached the vicinity of Earth, and the interpretation of these observations to determine the characteristics of the extraterrestrial bodies and phenomena that have emitted the radiation.
    black hole
    A cosmic phenomenon in which the mass and density of a star pass a critical point so that the escape velocity matches the speed of light. For this reason, light and matter are "captured'' by the black hole and cannot escape.
    AmericasAndrew LevanastronomyBasic Scienceblack holeChandra X-ray ObservatoryDracoenergyEuropegamma-ray burstsGemini telescopeHubble Space TelescopeImagingJoshua BloomKeck TelescopeNial TanvirResearch & TechnologySwift 1644+57Swift Gamma Burst Mission satelliteUKUniversity of California BerkeleyUniversity of LeicesterUniversity of Warwickx-ray bursts

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