Black holes may devour stars from the inside

[n2doc]

Radical new theory could help explain most powerful explosions in universe


By Charles Q. Choi

updated 1:37 p.m. ET, Tues., Sept . 22, 2009

As if they weren't considered beastly enough, black holes can dive into nearby stars and devour them from the inside out, scientists now suggest. Such invasions by such black holes could help explain the most powerful explosions in the universe, gamma-ray bursts, whose origins remain elusive.

The idea needs support from further theoretical work, and observations would help, too. Meanwhile, here's what spawned the notion:

Gamma-ray bursts are narrow beams of intense radiation that can unleash as much energy as our sun will during its entire 10-billion-year lifetime — all in anywhere from milliseconds to a minute or more. The processes that can generate that much energy in that short a time are among the biggest mysteries in astronomy today.

more:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32969516/ns/technology_and_science-space/

[ZombieHorde]

1. Astronomy is awesome. K&R

[sspeilbergfan90]

2. hmmmmm

[gk88850]

3. Very good stuff.