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Astronomers Detect First Wandering Supermassive Black Hole Through Star-Shredding Event

A rare tidal disruption event, AT2024tvd, has revealed a supermassive black hole 2,600 light-years from its galaxy's center, challenging assumptions about their locations.

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Overview

  • AT2024tvd, a tidal disruption event detected in August 2024, revealed a ~1 million solar mass black hole consuming a star 600 million light-years away.
  • Unlike most supermassive black holes found at galactic centers, this one is offset by 2,600 light-years, marking the first such discovery through optical surveys.
  • The host galaxy contains two supermassive black holes: the offset black hole and a central one approximately 100 million solar masses in size.
  • Scientists are exploring theories about the offset black hole's origins, including ejection from a three-body interaction or remnants of a galaxy merger.
  • Future observatories like the Vera Rubin and Roman Space Telescopes are expected to uncover more wandering black holes via similar tidal disruption events.