Most galaxies, including our own, possess a central supersized black hole weighing millions of times the sun's mass. According to the new studies, the black hole in the galaxy hosting Swift J1644+57 may be twice the mass of the four-million-solar-mass black hole lurking at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. As a star falls toward a black hole, it is ripped apart by intense tides. The gas is corralled into a disk that swirls around the black hole and becomes rapidly heated to temperatures of millions of degrees.
The innermost gas in the disk spirals toward the black hole, where rapid motion and magnetism creates dual, oppositely directed \"funnels\" through which some particles may escape. Particle jets driving matter at velocities greater than 80-90 percent the speed of light form along the black hole's spin axis. In the case of Swift J1644+57, one of these jets happened to point straight at Earth.
Theoretical studies of tidally disrupted stars suggested that they would appear as flares at optical and ultraviolet energies. The brightness and energy of a black hole's jet is greatly enhanced when viewed head-on. The phenomenon, called relativistic beaming, explains why Swift J1644+57 was seen at X-ray energies and appeared so strikingly luminous.
When first detected on March 28, the flares were initially assumed to signal a gamma-ray burst, one of the nearly daily short blasts of high-energy radiation often associated with the death of a massive star and the birth of a black hole in the distant universe. But as the emission continued to brighten and flare, astronomers realized that the most plausible explanation was the tidal disruption of a sun-like star seen as beamed emission.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 351451, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10807/#media_group_351451", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "On March 28, 2011, NASA's Swift detected intense X-ray flares thought to be caused by a black hole devouring a star. In one model, illustrated here, a sun-like star on an eccentric orbit plunges too close to its galaxy's central black hole. About half of the star's mass feeds an accretion disk around the black hole, which in turn powers a particle jet that beams radiation toward Earth.
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab", "items": [ { "id": 328828, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484419, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/BlackHoleAnimation_00730.jpg", "filename": "BlackHoleAnimation_00730.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "On March 28, 2011, NASA's Swift detected intense X-ray flares thought to be caused by a black hole devouring a star. In one model, illustrated here, a sun-like star on an eccentric orbit plunges too close to its galaxy's central black hole. About half of the star's mass feeds an accretion disk around the black hole, which in turn powers a particle jet that beams radiation toward Earth. 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For complete transcript, click here.", "items": [ { "id": 328843, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484426, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/BlackHoleAnimation_01500.jpg", "filename": "BlackHoleAnimation_01500.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328844, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484425, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/BlackHoleAnimation_01500_web.png", "filename": "BlackHoleAnimation_01500_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 328832, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484427, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328833, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484432, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328834, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484431, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328835, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484434, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music.wmv", "filename": "Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music.wmv", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328836, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484429, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_960x720_29.97_Apple_TV.m4v", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_960x720_29.97_Apple_TV.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 960, "height": 720, "pixels": 691200 } }, { "id": 328837, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484428, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_1280x720_30.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328838, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484430, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_1280x720_59.94_YouTube.mov", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_1280x720_59.94_YouTube.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328842, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484424, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/BlackHoleAnimation_01500.tif", "filename": "BlackHoleAnimation_01500.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 328845, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484437, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_960x720_29.97_Apple_TV.webmhd.webm", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_960x720_29.97_Apple_TV.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 328839, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484435, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_640x360_29.97_iPhone.m4v", "filename": "10807_Swift_BH_Swallows_Star_Music_H264_640x360_29.97_iPhone.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Same animation as above, with music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 640, "height": 360, "pixels": 230400 } }, { "id": 328841, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484436, "url": 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events that scientists think likely resulted in Swift J1644+57.
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Swift", "items": [ { "id": 328846, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484438, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/4-panel_graphic.jpg", "filename": "4-panel_graphic.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This illustration steps through the events that scientists think likely resulted in Swift J1644+57. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Swift", "width": 3273, "height": 1752, "pixels": 5734296 } }, { "id": 328847, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484439, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/4-panel_graphic_web.png", "filename": "4-panel_graphic_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This illustration steps through the events that scientists think likely resulted in Swift J1644+57. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Swift", "width": 320, "height": 171, "pixels": 54720 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 351454, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10807/#media_group_351454", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This illustration steps through the events that scientists think likely resulted in Swift J1644+57. No Labels.
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(There are two versions of the image here. One with labels and one without labels.) Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center", "items": [ { "id": 328870, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484462, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/Diagram_SwiftJ1644_QPO_labels_small.jpg", "filename": "Diagram_SwiftJ1644_QPO_labels_small.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This illustration highlights the principal features of Swift J1644+57 and summarizes what astronomers have discovered about it. (There are two versions of the image here. One with labels and one without labels.) 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Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center", "width": 4166, "height": 2344, "pixels": 9765104 } }, { "id": 328872, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 484464, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010800/a010807/Diagram_SwiftJ1644_QPO_labels_web.png", "filename": "Diagram_SwiftJ1644_QPO_labels_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This illustration highlights the principal features of Swift J1644+57 and summarizes what astronomers have discovered about it. (There are two versions of the image here. One with labels and one without labels.) 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Could our Sun be eaten by a black hole?Black holes are black right? How do scientists study something that can’t be seen?Where can we learn more?QUESTIONS FOR LONGER INTERVIEWS:How does a planet-hunting mission help us learn about black holes?How did the scientists involved first learn about the event?What is #BlackHoleWeek?QUICK LINKS TO VIDEO AND AUDIOClick for downloadable AUDIO SOUNDBITE with NASA Scientist Knicole Colon.Click for downloadable soundbites with NASA Scientist Knicole ColonClick for downloadable soundbites with NASA Scientist Brad CenkoClick for downloadable soundbites with Carnegie astronomer Tom Holoien. || b_roll_slate.png (1280x720) [336.8 KB] || Rare_Black_Hole_Event_Broll_720p.webm (1280x720) [37.1 MB] || Rare_Black_Hole_Event_Broll_720p.mp4 (1280x720) [677.9 MB] || ", "release_date": "2019-09-26T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:45:37.295914-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 392633, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013300/a013321/knicole_screen_grab_searchweb.png", "filename": "knicole_screen_grab_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Canned interview with NASA Scientist Knicole Colon. TRT 4:40", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 12265, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12265/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "X-ray Echoes Map a 'Killer' Black Hole", "description": "NASA Goddard astronomer Erin Kara discusses the discovery of X-ray echoes from Swift J1644+57, a black hole that shattered a passing star. X-rays produced by flares near this million-solar-mass black hole bounced off the nascent accretion disk and revealed its structure. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"The Orion Arm\" and \"Particle Acceleration\" both from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || TD_Still.png (1920x1080) [11.0 MB] || TD_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [109.7 KB] || TD_Still_searchweb.png (180x320) [91.6 KB] || TD_Still_thm.png (80x40) [7.0 KB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [3.8 GB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [1.6 GB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2-HD_1080p.mov (1920x1080) [443.2 MB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2-Apple_Devices_Best.m4v (1920x1080) [295.2 MB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [150.6 MB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2-Apple_HD_Compatible.m4v (960x540) [118.9 MB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [150.7 MB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2-Apple_HD_Compatible.webm (960x540) [31.7 MB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [5.3 KB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [5.3 KB] || 12265_BH_Echoes_FINAL2_lowres.mp4 (480x272) [39.9 MB] || ", "release_date": "2016-06-22T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:48:31.801963-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 423280, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012200/a012265/TD_Still.png", "filename": "TD_Still.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "NASA Goddard astronomer Erin Kara discusses the discovery of X-ray echoes from Swift J1644+57, a black hole that shattered a passing star. X-rays produced by flares near this million-solar-mass black hole bounced off the nascent accretion disk and revealed its structure. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: \"The Orion Arm\" and \"Particle Acceleration\" both from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 20228, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20228/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star (Animation Only)", "description": "A star approaching too close to a massive black hole is torn apart by tidal forces, as shown in this artist's rendering. Filaments containing much of the star's mass fall toward the black hole. Eventually these gaseous filaments merge into a smooth, hot disc glowing brightly in X-rays. As the disk forms, it's central region heats up tremendously, which drives a flow of material, called a wind, away from the disk.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || BlackHoleAnimation.1675_print.jpg (1024x576) [119.5 KB] || BlackHoleAnimation.1675_searchweb.png (320x180) [88.0 KB] || BlackHoleAnimation.1675_thm.png (80x40) [5.9 KB] || 20228_Swift_Tidal_ProRes_1920x1080_5994.webm (1920x1080) [4.8 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [256.0 KB] || 20228_Swift_Tidal_ProRes_1920x1080_5994.mov (1920x1080) [1.4 GB] || 20228_Swift_Tidal_H264_1920x1080_5994.mov (1920x1080) [813.8 MB] || ", "release_date": "2016-04-06T11:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:48:44.322285-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 439588, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020228/BlackHoleAnimation.1675_print.jpg", "filename": "BlackHoleAnimation.1675_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A star approaching too close to a massive black hole is torn apart by tidal forces, as shown in this artist's rendering. Filaments containing much of the star's mass fall toward the black hole. Eventually these gaseous filaments merge into a smooth, hot disc glowing brightly in X-rays. As the disk forms, it's central region heats up tremendously, which drives a flow of material, called a wind, away from the disk.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 12005, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12005/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Massive Black Hole Shreds Passing Star", "description": "A star approaching too close to a massive black hole is torn apart by tidal forces, as shown in this artist's rendering. Filaments containing much of the star's mass fall toward the black hole. Eventually these gaseous filaments merge into a smooth, hot disk glowing brightly in X-rays. As the disk forms, its central region heats up tremendously, which drives a flow of material, called a wind, away from the disk. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [172.7 KB] || Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [606.7 KB] || Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still_web.png (320x180) [98.5 KB] || Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [98.4 KB] || APPLE_TV_12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_FINAL_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [37.5 MB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_MPEG4_1920X1080_2997.mp4 (1920x1080) [40.5 MB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_MPEG4_1920X1080_2997.webm (1920x1080) [7.7 MB] || WMV_12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_FINAL_HD.wmv (1920x1080) [49.6 MB] || APPLE_TV_12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_FINAL_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [37.4 MB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [261 bytes] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_FINAL_lowres.mp4 (480x272) [10.6 MB] || NASA_PODCAST_12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_FINAL_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [12.3 MB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [248 bytes] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_ProRes_1920x1080_5994.mov (1920x1080) [2.1 GB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_H264_Good_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [301.2 MB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_FINAL_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [1.3 GB] || 12005_Swift_Tidal_Music_H264_Best_1920x1080_5994.mov (1920x1080) [2.5 GB] || ", "release_date": "2015-10-21T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:49:12.574389-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 439527, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012000/a012005/Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still.jpg", "filename": "Swift_Tidal_Disruption_2_Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A star approaching too close to a massive black hole is torn apart by tidal forces, as shown in this artist's rendering. Filaments containing much of the star's mass fall toward the black hole. Eventually these gaseous filaments merge into a smooth, hot disk glowing brightly in X-rays. As the disk forms, its central region heats up tremendously, which drives a flow of material, called a wind, away from the disk. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI LabWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }