Mapping astronomical events

Optical image of the galaxy where the new event occurred, from PanSTARRS archive data. The x-ray itself is somewhere inside the white circle, and is about the size of a pinhead from 100 meters away. Also shown is the location of a two-year-old supernova. Credit: Daniele B. Malesani / PanSTARRS

Stellar feast: A ferocious black hole "drinks" the equivalent of three Earths from a star every time it passes

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A Sun-like star located in a galaxy roughly 500 million light-years away is being gradually devoured by a black hole, shedding a mass equal to three Earths on each close pass.
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