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Einstein Probe may have caught a black hole tearing apart a white dwarf for the first time
sciencedaily.com
Scientists saw a big event in space. The Einstein Probe telescope found it. This tool spots bright X-rays. These are high-energy waves. The signal changed very fast. It stood out from other stars. This helped researchers study the event. They want to learn how black holes eat. These dark objects pull in matter. The new data gives clear answers.
On July 2, 2025, the probe saw the source. It was named EP250702a. The object was very bright. Data showed an intermediate-mass black hole. It was tearing apart a white dwarf star. This type of star is dense. It is the remnant of a sun. The black hole pulled the star apart. Gravity stretched the star into pieces. The pieces spiraled into the black hole. This released huge amounts of energy. It marks a rare first discovery.
The Einstein Probe has two instruments. One has a wide view. It spots sources across the sky. It found the source first. The other instrument had a narrow view. It gave detailed pictures. NASA’s Fermi telescope also helped. It saw gamma rays. These are powerful energy bursts. Seeing both signals helped scientists. They confirmed the strange timeline. The X-rays came before the gamma rays. This order is very unusual.