Star ‘squeezed like toothpaste tube’ by supermassive black hole

Astronomers have confirmed that an "extraordinary flash" witnessed in the sky earlier this year was, actually, a star being ripped apart by a black hole.

This video is an artist's illustration showing how the star fell towards the black hole, producing jets of matter and radiation.

Scientists described the "violent event" as being as if the star was "squeezed like a toothpaste tube" by the force in space.

The European Space Observatory said such incidents are "very exotic and poorly understood," leading astronomers to "hunt" for more information.

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