A giant black hole in the constellation Draco bit off more than
it could chew. On 25 March, NASA's Swift satellite detected an
x-ray flare when a black hole 3.9 billion light-years from Earth
tore a passing star to shreds. The flare arose because friction
and gravity roasted the star's remains and made them glow
brilliantly before the black hole swallowed them. Now, as
astronomers report online today in Nature, the x-ray data as
well as radio observations indicate the fireworks caused a
narrow jet of material to shoot away from the black hole's
outskirts. Similar jets emerge from other black holes, but this
is the first time that astronomers have witnessed the birth of
one. The black hole in Draco resides at the center of a far-off
galaxy and is about the same size as the 4-million-solar-mass
black hole marking the Milky Way's heart. Although our galaxy's
black hole is currently quiet, this discovery means just one
wayward star can spark a See more ScienceShots.