SourceNASA’s Swift Sees ‘Wandering’ Mega Black Hole Shredding Star - NASA Science
This detection method allows astronomers to find invisible supermassive black holes that are not centered in galaxies. It helps researchers understand how galaxies merge and the movement of these massive objects.
- First tidal disruption event confirmed so far out on a galaxy's outskirts (30,000 light-years from center)
- The supermassive black hole weighs approximately 1 million times the Sun's mass
- Initially flagged in November 2025 by an AI algorithm analyzing Zwicky Transient Facility data
- Followed up by SOAR telescope, Lowell Discovery Telescope, and Swift's UVOT and XRT instruments