Using Supercomputers To Predict Signs of Black Holes Swallowing Stars

aarondubrow (1866212) writes "A 'tidal disruption' occurs when a star orbits too close to a black hole and gets sucked in. The phenomenon is accompanied by a bright flare with a unique signature that changes over time. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are using Stampede and other NSF-supported supercomputers to simulate tidal disruptions in order to better understand the dynamics of the process. Doing so helps astronomers find many more possible candidates of tidal disruptions in sky surveys and will reveal details of how stars and black holes interact."

disruptionsin

[Anonymous Coward]

disruptionsin

Re:Impossible

[mmell]

Somebody mod this guy up "Hilarious". I'm relatively sure that's what he was going for . . . and I have to admit to having to reread that (perfectly reasonable and appropriate) question twice before forcing my brain to parse it out correctly.

"I'm not a fig plucker . . . "

Re:Impossible

[wonkey_monkey]

How can a black hole swallow a star if the star's clock slows to a stop as it approaches the event horizon?

Because it doesn't.

The star's clock may slow to a stop relative to ours, sitting safely outside, but as far as the star is concerned, its clock continues to tick happily away. If the black hole is big enough, the star wouldn't be in the least perturbed by the experience.