Artist’s interpretation of two massive black holes (MBHs) within a galaxy. A tidal disruption event unfolds around the MBH that resides away from the galactic center and matter from a disrupted star swirls into a bright accretion disk, launching an energetic outflow and resulting in two bright radio flares. Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P.Vosteen For the first time, scientists have observed a tidal disruption event (TDE) -- a phenomenon in which a black hole rips apart a passing star -- taking place