Astronomers detect record radio burst from black hole destroying a star

An international team of astronomers, led by Dr. Itay Sfaradi and Prof. Raffaella Margutti of the University of California, Berkeley, has detected exceptionally powerful radio signals from a black hole tearing apart a star—an event known as a tidal disruption event (TDE)—far from the center of its galaxy.

The discovery, made in collaboration with scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Open University of Israel, revealed radio emissions developing at a faster rate than ever recorded for this kind of cosmic event.

A simulation of a black hole tearing apart a star far from the center of its galaxy

(Photo: NSF / AUI / NSF NRAO / P.Vosteen)

“This is truly an exceptional phenomenon,” said Dr. Sfaradi, the study’s lead author. “We have never observed such strong radio emissions from a black hole destroying a star this far from the galactic center—and evolving so rapidly. It changes how we understand black hole behavior.”

The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

A black hole in an unexpected place

Typically, TDEs occur when a star ventures too close to a supermassive black hole at a galaxy’s center and is torn apart by its immense gravitational forces. But this event, named AT2024tvd, took place some 2,600 light-years (about 0.8 kiloparsecs) from the galaxy’s core—evidence that supermassive black holes can lurk in surprising locations.

The team detected the phenomenon through high-precision observations using several major radio telescopes, including the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, ALMA in Chile, ATA, SMA, and AMI-LA in the United Kingdom. The radio data from the UK telescope were collected by a team at the Hebrew University led by Prof. Assaf Horesh.

“These observations shed new light on how massive black holes operate—even when they are hidden from view,” said Prof. Horesh.

Record-fast twin radio bursts

The event produced two distinct bursts of radio emission, both developing at unprecedented speed. The findings suggest that material was ejected from around the black hole months after the initial stellar destruction—a delay that hints at mysterious processes still not fully understood.

Further analysis indicated that the radio signals may have originated from two separate ejections of matter, released months apart, marking the first clear evidence that black holes can resume activity after a period of dormancy.

Dr. Sfaradi, who earned his doctorate under Prof. Horesh’s supervision, expressed his excitement over the collaboration. “It’s one of the most fascinating discoveries I’ve been part of,” said Horesh. “The fact that it was made by my former student makes it even more rewarding. This achievement places Israeli science once again at the forefront of global astrophysical research.”