Supermassive Black Hole Swallows Star in Galaxy Outskirts, New Research Shows

Astronomers have identified a wandering supermassive black hole, about one million times the Sun’s mass, tearing apart a star in the outer region of a galaxy 750 million light‑years away. The flare was first flagged by the Zwicky Transient Facility in November 2025 and later observed in ultraviolet by the Swift satellite, in optical by the SOAR telescope in Chile, and across other wavelengths, confirming a tidal‑disruption event that briefly outshone the host galaxy.

Separate research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society examined a 2023 outburst from the black‑hole system Swift J1727.8‑1613. Using high‑resolution optical data and observations from the Very Large Telescope in Chile, scientists found that after consuming stellar material the black hole expelled roughly 10 % of the mass back into space, producing a sustained gas storm. The findings suggest black holes can “regurgitate” material, altering how such events are modeled.