Astronomers Witness Unprecedented Jet from Black Hole Feeding on Torn Star

• February 5, 2026

Astronomers have detected a supermassive black hole continuously ejecting an exceptionally powerful relativistic jet as it feeds on the remnants of a star it tore apart. This phenomenon, first noted in 2018, is remarkable for its unprecedented duration and increasing intensity over the years.

Prolonged Accretion and a Record-Setting Jet

The event, designated AT2018hyz, involved a star that ventured too close to a supermassive black hole, leading to its destruction through intense gravitational forces. Since that initial disruption, the black hole has been accreting the star’s debris, a process that has persisted for more than four years—far exceeding typical timescales observed in similar cosmic encounters.

Accompanying this prolonged accretion phase is a relativistic jet, an extremely high-energy outflow of particles propelled near the speed of light. What distinguishes this jet is its astounding power, which astronomers describe as being trillions of times more energetic than the fictional “Death Star” weapon popularized in science fiction.

Continuous observations have shown the jet’s intensity steadily rising, with predictions indicating it may reach its peak brightness around 2027. Such longevity and scaling energy output have never been documented in events where a black hole consumes stellar material.

This discovery provides valuable insights into the dynamics of black hole feeding processes and the mechanisms that generate relativistic jets. It also opens new avenues for further research on how black holes influence their surrounding environments over extended periods.

While many details about the physical conditions and the black hole’s properties remain under investigation, this case sets a new benchmark for the study of tidal disruption events and energetic jet emissions in the cosmos.

A black hole has produced the most powerful relativistic jet observed, fueled by a star it shredded, with activity intensifying since 2018.