Astronomers have observed a star similar to our Sun being torn apart and consumed by a black hole located approximately 500 million light years away. This event resulted in periodic bursts of light occurring roughly every 25 days, and researchers from the University of Leicester were able to detect these emissions.

Typically, black hole outbursts, known as tidal disruption events, occur when a black hole devours a star. However, in this instance, the black hole was repeatedly partially destroying stars, leading to regular emissions. These recurring eruptions can fall into two categories: those happening every few hours and those occurring roughly once a year, as explained by scientists.

In this particular case, the emissions followed a pattern that fell between these two extremes, as noted by the research team.

Observations have unveiled a fascinating occurrence involving a star named Swift J0230. Instead of adhering to the anticipated pattern of gradual fading, this star would emit intense brightness for a span of seven to ten days and then abruptly extinguish, repeating this cycle approximately every 25 days. These findings, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, provide valuable insights into how black holes disrupt stars in their orbits.

Robert Eyles-Ferris, who recently completed his doctoral studies at the University of Leicester, pointed out that, unlike most observed systems where stars are completely obliterated, Swift J0230 introduces an exciting aspect as it belongs to the category of partially disrupted stars.

On his part, Phil Evans, the lead author of the study from the University of Leicester's school of physics and astronomy, highlighted that "this is the first time we’ve seen a star like our sun being repeatedly shredded and consumed by a low-mass black hole."

According to models of the Swift J0230 outburst, it is deduced that the star has a size similar to our Sun and follows an elliptical orbit around a low-mass black hole at the center of its galaxy.

Estimations indicate that material equivalent to three Earths is stripped from Swift J0230's outer layers and heated as it falls into the black hole. This intense heating, reaching temperatures of approximately 2 million degrees Celsius, emits a significant amount of X-rays, initially detected by NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

The researchers estimate that the black hole involved is relatively small compared to supermassive black holes, with a mass ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 times that of the Sun.

Swift J0230 was identified using an innovative tool developed by the Leicester team for the observatory—a transient detector. Dr Kim Page from the university, who contributed to the study, anticipates that there could be numerous similar objects to Swift J0230 waiting to be uncovered, especially considering that the discovery was made shortly after the introduction of their new transient-hunting tool.