08/23/2025
This week, a team of astronomers led by the CfA and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced that they may have caught a massive star in the act of exploding while trying to swallow a black hole, a rare cosmic drama that could explain one of the strangest stellar blasts ever recorded.
Scientists believe that the giant star was orbiting a black hole in a tight, deadly dance, but over time, the pair spiraled closer together until the star began to engulf the black hole. The immense gravitational stress caused by this interaction triggered the star's explosion, producing the unusual blast now known as SN 2023zkd. Read the full press release about the discovery and what it means for scientists studying massive stars and their companions.
Their discovery has been covered by multiple major media this week, including the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/08/13/black-hole-rips-star-discovery/
Credit: Melissa Weiss/CfA
