Black holes jet out in two predictable bursts after devouring a star

Astronomers analyzing 20 tidal disruption events with radio telescopes found that black holes—ranging from stellar to supermassive—generate jets in two distinct phases of feeding: during high accretion and again hundreds to thousands of days after disruption when the accretion rate falls to about 2% of its maximum. This timing is consistent across black hole sizes, enabling precise jet predictions and more efficient use of telescope time.