Supermassive black hole with torn-apart star (artist’s impression)
This artist’s impression depicts a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole surrounded by an accretion disc. This thin disc of rotating material consists of the leftovers of a Sun-like star which was ripped apart by the tidal forces of the black hole. Shocks in the colliding debris as well as heat generated in accretion led to a burst of light, resembling a supernova explosion.
Credit:ESO, ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser/N. Bartmann
About the Image
Id: | black-holes-infographic-v2 |
Type: | Artwork |
Release date: | 31 October 2018, 17:00 |
Size: | 4992 x 3535 px |
About the Object
Type: | Early Universe : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Black Hole |
Category: | Illustrations Quasars and Black Holes |
Image Formats
Large JPEG
2.0 MB
Publication TIFF 4K
6.5 MB
Publication JPEG
1.4 MB
Screensize JPEG
198.6 KB