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First Detection of Spacetime Wobble Near Spinning Black Hole

1/4/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Astronomers have detected spacetime wobbling near a spinning black hole for the first time, confirming a key prediction of Einstein's theory of relativity.
The study in Science Advances centers on AT2020afhd, a tidal disruption event where a star was torn apart by a supermassive black hole.
The researchers observed coordinated wobbling in the debris disk and jets, implying Lense-Thirring precession and advancing methods to study black holes.

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Story summary

Astronomers have detected spacetime wobbling near a spinning black hole for the first time, confirming a key prediction of Einstein's theory of relativity.
The study in Science Advances centers on AT2020afhd, a tidal disruption event where a star was torn apart by a supermassive black hole.
The researchers observed coordinated wobbling in the debris disk and jets, implying Lense-Thirring precession and advancing methods to study black holes.