Star Gets Ripped, Achieves Fame

Black Hole Devours Star, Spews Explosive Remnants

Seven hundred million years ago, the black hole

at the core of Galaxy RX J1242-11 ate a star

the size of our sun.

"Stars can survive being stretched a small amount," said study leader Stefanie Komossa of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany. "But this star was stretched beyond its breaking point."

And no, they don't mean Michael Jackson.