Dhaka, Sept. 17 -- Scientists have solved one of astrophysics' more colourful puzzles: when black holes "burp" -- launching powerful jets of material into space after devouring stars.

When a star strays too close to a black hole, it is torn apart in a process called spaghettification, reports The Guardian.

Only about half is swallowed; the rest is blasted back into space in jets powerful enough to shape entire galaxies. Scientists call this a black hole burp.

The timing of these burps had long been a mystery -- sometimes jets appeared a year after the star was destroyed, sometimes three to five years later.

Now a study in Nature Astronomy has the answer. Dr Adelle Goodwin of Curtin University and co-author Dr Andrew Mummery used radio...