【人民日报】“天关”卫星可能捕捉到黑洞“进食”现场

Core Insights - The "Tian Guan" satellite of the Chinese Academy of Sciences captured an unusually bright and rapidly changing X-ray source, designated as EP250702a, leading to a global multi-telescope observational campaign [1] - The brightness variation, radiation rhythm, and spectral characteristics of EP250702a are significantly different from any previously known outbursts [1] - The research team proposed a groundbreaking explanation that this event likely represents a medium-mass black hole tearing apart and consuming a white dwarf star, marking the first time humanity has captured such an extreme black hole "feeding" event [1] Summary by Categories Event Description - The event EP250702a was identified as an exceptionally bright and rapidly changing X-ray source [1] - Multiple telescopes worldwide participated in a coordinated observational effort to study this phenomenon [1] Scientific Significance - The characteristics of EP250702a differ markedly from known astronomical events, indicating a unique occurrence [1] - The event is theorized to involve a medium-mass black hole, which is capable of shredding a dense white dwarf star, a process that has not been observed before [1] Astronomical Context - White dwarfs are remnants of dead stars with extremely high density, averaging a density of up to one million times that of the Sun [1] - The theoretical framework suggests that only black holes with masses ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of solar masses can effectively disrupt such dense objects [1]