A view of comet 3I/ATLAS, as seen by NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), which observed the interstellar object from 7–15 August 2025. Credit: NASA/SPHEREx

SETI News October 15th 2025 At a Glance Radio observations with the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) have, as part of an international observing campaign, helped discover an unprecedented burst of radio activity from a tidal disruption event (TDE). TDEs happen when an unfortunate star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole (SMBH) and is ripped apart by its strong gravitational forces. These events light up the cosmos across all wavelengths, from visible and X-ray light to radio waves. This particular TDE, named AT 2024tvd, stands out from others. It evolved at record-breaking speed, but also took place off-center, away from the nucleus of its galaxy. “Tidal disruption events are usually found at the hearts of galaxies whereas AT 2024tvd was caused by an off-center black hole, the first time this has been unambiguously seen,” said Dr. Joe Bright, Radio Astronomy Researcher, University of Oxford. “It’s possible that the unprecedented rapid radio evolution is the result of its unusual position in the galaxy.” The discovery, led by principal investigators Dr. Itai Sfaradi and Dr. Raffaella Margutti of the University of California, Berkeley, and including astronomers from the SETI Institute, represents a breakthrough in understanding how massive black holes can hide in unexpected places throughout the universe. Most galaxies, including our Milky Way, are thought to have a SMBH at their center. These cosmic monsters pull in surrounding material and launch giant jets of material that shape how galaxies evolve. Not all SMBHs are easy to find; they can remain quiet and only become detectable when something dramatic occurs nearby. TDEs offer a way to probe the properties of SMBHs and the regions surrounding them, as well as to discover black holes in unusual locations. Radio observations of AT 2024tvd reveal that its host galaxy hosts two SMBH: one at its expected location