VIDEO: NASA Scientist Talks Rare Cosmic Discovery -- A Black Hole Shredding A Distant Star
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In a rare, first-time discovery, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was able to watch a black hole shred apart a distant star from the moment it began.
The event, called a tidal disruption event, happens only once in every 10,000 to 100,000 years in the galaxy the size of our Milky Way.
Further observations by NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and other facilities have produced the most detailed look yet at the early moments of one of these star-destroying occurrences.
Black holes, while integral to life cycles of galaxies, are very difficult to study. Thanks to this discovery and coordination by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae, and other missions, astrophysics are a step closer to understanding mysterious black holes.
WCCO Digital Producer Cole Premo interviewed NASA Scientist Dr. Knicole Colon about the discovery and what it means for humanity.
Watch the video above for more.