Fireworks from Black Holes Devouring Stars | Dr. Yuhan Yao 

Lecture Date: 6/6/24
Speaker: Dr. Yuhan Yao
Full Title: Fireworks from Black Holes Devouring Stars
Summary: Most galaxies in the universe are thought to contain a supermassive black hole in their centers. While these black holes themselves do not emit light, they can be "awakened" when a star gets too close and is torn apart by their powerful gravitational forces. From start to finish, a black hole takes a couple of months to fully consume a star, all the while producing visual fireworks across the electromagnetic spectrum. I will talk about how astronomers search for these "tidal disruption events", and what we have learned about black holes as they manipulate their surrounding material to create new physical features.