Astronomers are very familiar with the twin jets launched from the poles of supermassive black holes. These structures can stretch for distances as great as 23 million light-years, extending way above and below the plane of the galaxy from which they erupt.

Astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes "have determined that a giant black hole has destroyed a large star and strewn its contents into space," according to NASA. Credit: NASA/CXC/A.

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