Astronomers have discovered the telltale signature of a supermassive black hole that recently tore a star apart that came too close. This is known as a tidal disruption event, and it causes a flash of X-ray radiation that's detectable from our space telescopes. The expanding debris cloud from the shredded star has drifted into the path of another star, which is now repeatedly crashing through the cloud every 48 hours, sending out additional flares.

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