{"id":803180,"date":"2026-07-30T06:12:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=803180"},"modified":"2026-07-30T06:12:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T11:12:32","slug":"wandering-black-hole-spotted-shredding-a-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=803180","title":{"rendered":"Wandering black hole spotted shredding a star"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\nNASA says its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has spotted a supermassive black hole shredding a star. As in this illustration, the remains of the star swirled around the black hole, which also shot some of the material outward in a jet. But this wandering black hole is not at the center of a galaxy, where we often expect to find supermassive black holes. Instead, it\u2019s lurking on the outskirts of a galaxy. Image via NRAO\/ AUI\/ NSF\/ NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Wandering black hole spotted shredding a star<\/h3>\n
When we think of supermassive black holes, we usually think of the enormous beasts that lie at the center of galaxies like the Milky Way. But on July 27, 2026, NASA said its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory spotted a supermassive black hole wandering on the outskirts of a galaxy.<\/p>\n
How did scientists spot it? The black hole was ripping apart a star that had drifted too close. And this is the first time scientists have seen a supermassive black hole feasting on a star that far from the center of a galaxy.<\/p>\n
Lead author Robert Stein of the University of Maryland and NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said: <\/p>\n
\n
We were looking for these star-shredding events as a way to find otherwise invisible supermassive black holes wandering away from the galactic cores where they usually reside. With this discovery, which is one of just a couple that have been confirmed so far, we\u2019ve validated a new technique and can use it to hunt for more.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The researchers published their peer-reviewed paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters<\/em> on July 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
And yes, Swift is the same observatory that\u2019s falling back to Earth. It\u2019s in the midst of a rescue mission that will boost it to a higher altitude.<\/p>\n
A bright flare on the outskirts of a galaxy<\/h3>\n
An extremely bright flare revealed the location of the otherwise hidden supermassive black hole. The flare was the result of a star getting ripped to shreds by the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. Astronomers call this violent breakup of a star a tidal disruption event.<\/p>\n
The Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory in California first spotted the bright eruption in November 2025. The flare was happening at the outer edge of a galaxy some 750 million light-years away. Stein said: <\/p>\n
\n
Out of the half million flashes the Zwicky Transient Facility detects each night, our new artificial intelligence algorithm automatically recognized a flare that looked a lot like a tidal disruption event, despite its unusual location in the outskirts of a galaxy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Science matters. Wonder matters. You matter<\/strong>. Join our 2026 Donation Campaign \u2013 donate today!<\/strong><\/p>\nThe bright spot on the left is the galaxy WISEA J014656.04-152214.7. It lies about 750 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus. The bright blue spot that appears on the outskirts of the galaxy is the tidal disruption event, where a supermassive black hole is shredding a star. Image via NASA\/ Lowell Discovery Telescope\/ Legacy Survey\/ Robert Stein.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Confirmation of a tidal disruption event<\/h3>\n
The bright flaring lasted for months, allowing other observatories to have a look at the event. The supermassive black hole, about a million times the mass of our sun, created the tidal disruption event. It shone in ultraviolet light as it temporarily radiated with the light of about 10 billion suns. <\/p>\n
The Swift telescope was able to estimate the temperature of the tidal disruption event. It registered a temperature of 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit (30,000 degrees Celsius). Plus, the Southern Astrophysical Research telescope in Chile looked at the spectrum to confirm that it was a tidal disruption event. Co-author Jonathan Carney of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said: <\/p>\n
\n
The combination of all this data helped us rule out other explanations and confidently say it\u2019s a tidal disruption event, despite its strange location.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
A wandering black hole<\/h3>\n
Astronomers believe most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their cores. They usually form from the gravitational collapse of all the material packed into the galaxy\u2019s center. So tidal disruption events \u2013 when the supermassive black hole rips apart and eats a star \u2013 are something astronomers have spotted before at the centers of galaxies. <\/p>\n
And in 2024, scientists spotted the first tidal disruption event that wasn\u2019t at the center of a galaxy. That one occurred about 2,600 light-years from the center. And now they\u2019ve spotted one 30,000 light-years away from a galaxy\u2019s core.<\/p>\n
How did the supermassive black hole get there?<\/h3>\n
So this black hole not being at the center of a galaxy isn\u2019t new, but it\u2019s still odd. Stein said: <\/p>\n
\n
It must have originated in a galaxy\u2019s center, but not the one it\u2019s in the outskirts of now. We think the host galaxy\u2019s supermassive black hole is still at its core, but the one eating the star could have started off in a small galaxy that merged with the big one we see today.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The researchers came up with two scenarios as to how the supermassive black hole got to where it is:<\/p>\n
\n
Three or more galaxies may have merged. The gravitational interactions could have flung the lightest black hole out to the galaxy\u2019s edge.<\/li>\n
A dwarf galaxy could be in the midst of merging. The dwarf galaxy\u2019s stars \u2013 too dim to see individually \u2013 might be falling into the larger galaxy, and one passed too close to the dwarf\u2019s supermassive black hole.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
How common are wandering black holes?<\/h3>\n
Stein said: <\/p>\n
\n
Further discoveries could reveal the origin of this apparent \u2018orphan\u2019 black hole. The key science question we want to answer is: How common are wandering black holes?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
We may know soon.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ll recall, the Swift mission is falling back to Earth. But NASA has a plan to boost it, so that it can resume operations. The mission to boost it launched on July 3, and the Swift capture should happen in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Co-author S. Bradley Cenko, Swift\u2019s principal investigator at NASA Goddard, said: <\/p>\n
\n
Pointed science observations with Swift\u2019s UVOT and XRT (X-Ray Telescope) instruments are temporarily suspended as the mission awaits an orbit boost. Once it resumes normal operations, Swift could continue searching for more examples of out-of-place black holes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope can also join in the hunt. <\/p>\n
Carney said: <\/p>\n
\n
Rubin\u2019s wide, deep surveys will reveal a much larger sample of tidal disruption events than current observatories are capable of collecting, including ones that are off-center. And Roman\u2019s space-based surveys will extend the current search zone by seeing ones that are farther away, looking back through 9 billion years of cosmic history.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Bottom line: Astronomers have spotted a wandering black hole shredding a star. The supermassive black hole, normally found at the center of a galaxy, is instead roaming the outskirts of a galaxy.<\/p>\n
Source: TDE 2025abcr: A Tidal Disruption Event in the Outskirts of a Massive Galaxy<\/p>\n
Via NASA<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
Kelly Kizer Whitt<\/h4>\n
View Articles\n <\/p><\/div>\n
\n
About the Author:<\/h6>\n
Kelly Kizer Whitt – EarthSky\u2019s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube – writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She’s been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"2](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2026\/07\/tidaldisruptioneventblackholestarLowellDiscoveryTelescopeLegacySurveyRobertStein.webp\")