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Gamma-ray Flash Came From Star Being Eaten by Massive Black Hole


June 16, 2011

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A bright flash of gamma rays observed March 28 by the Swift satellite signaled the death of a star falling into a massive black hole, says a team of astronomers led by University of California, Berkeley's, Joshua Bloom. According to their model, a star the mass of our sun got too close and was ripped apart; one-tenth of the mass was emitted as X-rays and gamma rays, much of it in a collimated jet aimed at Earth.Full Story

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University of California, Berkeley

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