An amazing story from the LA TIMES, which reports that astronomers have detected "the death cry" of a star being eaten up by a super massive black hole.
One astronomer quotes by the TIMES says it's akin to 'hearing the star scream as it gets devoured, if you like.'
The scientific reasoning is detailed more in the TIMES. It's not literally a giant star screaming, of course. But the signals that have been detected with this black hole, identified Swift J1644+57, are similar to those detected from other black holes, some smaller, as material prepares to be sucked into the ... into the.. into the what!? That brings up that other question: What exactly happens in a black hole, what is a black hole, and where does the black hole go?
Millions of scientists, if there are millions, will have billions of theories. We are presented with some textbook analysis of what a black hole is.
But I dare someone to bet their life savings on knowing what exactly a black hole was, is, and does.
And now the thought of a star screaming from billions of light years away as it enters the hole is frightening.