Hidden black hole feeding on unstable star solves 15 year supernova mystery

Astronomers have finally solved a 15-year mystery surrounding a cosmic impostor that erupted repeatedly, mimicking a supernova explosion. According to observations from <b>NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory</b>, the faraway star erupts every 113 days because it is being fed upon by a compact companion black hole or neutron star. While a massive star is typically destroyed in a supernova when it runs out of nuclear fuel, this luminous and highly unstable star survived multiple outbursts. Researchers discovered that the vampiric black hole gets close enough to the unstable massive star during its orbit to trigger these recurring cosmic events.