It is not uncommon for black holes to devour nearby stars, gas, dust, and other forms of matter, but such a gigantic explosion is extremely rare.
A supermassive black hole violently "consumed" a gigantic star, causing a cosmic explosion that erupted with light equal to 10 trillion suns, according to a new study.
This phenomenon, known as a black hole flare, is considered the largest and most distant ever recorded—it was detected from a distance of 10 billion light-years.
"This is truly a once-in-a-million phenomenon," said Matthew Graham, a research professor of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology and lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Graham stated that the black hole's eruption is the most probable explanation based on its intensity and duration; however, future studies will help researchers confirm their findings.
It is not uncommon for black holes to devour nearby stars, gas, dust, and other forms of matter, but such a gigantic explosion is extremely rare, Graham stressed.
"This enormous flare is much more energetic than anything we've seen to date," he said, adding that at its peak, the explosion was 30 times brighter than any other black hole eruption recorded so far.
Part of the intensity stemmed from the size of the two cosmic objects involved.
What happened
The unfortunate star that wandered too close to the black hole is estimated to have had at least 30 times the mass of the Sun.
The supermassive black hole and the surrounding disk of matter, on the other hand, are estimated to be 500 million times heavier than the Sun.
The intense flare has lasted for over seven years, Graham said, and is likely still ongoing.
The flare was first detected in 2018 during an extensive sky survey using three telescopes on Earth. At the time, Graham said it was recorded as a "particularly bright object," but during subsequent observations months later, scientists were unable to collect enough useful information.
The new challenge with large celestial phenomena
Thus, the black hole flare was forgotten until 2023, when Graham and his colleagues decided to revisit the interesting spots from their previous survey. This time, astronomers made a rough estimate of the distance of the particularly bright object they had seen, and the result shocked them.
"Suddenly, we were like, 'This is really far away,'" Graham said. "And if it's that far away and that bright, how much energy is being released? That's now something unusual and very interesting."
It is not yet known exactly how the star met its end, but Graham suggested that a phenomenon similar to "cosmic bumper cars" may have kicked the star out of its regular orbit around the black hole, causing the close encounter.
These findings help form a more complete picture of how black holes operate and evolve.
"Our understanding of supermassive black holes and their environments has really changed in the last five to ten years," Graham noted. "There was this classic picture that most galaxies in the universe have a supermassive black hole at their center, and it just sits there and hums. Now we know that the environment around black holes is much more dynamic, and we're only just beginning to scratch the surface."
The flare has gradually faded over time, he said, but it will likely continue to be observed with telescopes on Earth for a few more years.
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This phenomenon, known as a black hole flare, is considered the largest and most distant ever recorded—it was detected from a distance of 10 billion light-years.
"This is truly a once-in-a-million phenomenon," said Matthew Graham, a research professor of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology and lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Graham stated that the black hole's eruption is the most probable explanation based on its intensity and duration; however, future studies will help researchers confirm their findings.
It is not uncommon for black holes to devour nearby stars, gas, dust, and other forms of matter, but such a gigantic explosion is extremely rare, Graham stressed.
"This enormous flare is much more energetic than anything we've seen to date," he said, adding that at its peak, the explosion was 30 times brighter than any other black hole eruption recorded so far.
Part of the intensity stemmed from the size of the two cosmic objects involved.
What happened
The unfortunate star that wandered too close to the black hole is estimated to have had at least 30 times the mass of the Sun.
The supermassive black hole and the surrounding disk of matter, on the other hand, are estimated to be 500 million times heavier than the Sun.
The intense flare has lasted for over seven years, Graham said, and is likely still ongoing.
The flare was first detected in 2018 during an extensive sky survey using three telescopes on Earth. At the time, Graham said it was recorded as a "particularly bright object," but during subsequent observations months later, scientists were unable to collect enough useful information.
The new challenge with large celestial phenomena
Thus, the black hole flare was forgotten until 2023, when Graham and his colleagues decided to revisit the interesting spots from their previous survey. This time, astronomers made a rough estimate of the distance of the particularly bright object they had seen, and the result shocked them.
"Suddenly, we were like, 'This is really far away,'" Graham said. "And if it's that far away and that bright, how much energy is being released? That's now something unusual and very interesting."
It is not yet known exactly how the star met its end, but Graham suggested that a phenomenon similar to "cosmic bumper cars" may have kicked the star out of its regular orbit around the black hole, causing the close encounter.
These findings help form a more complete picture of how black holes operate and evolve.
"Our understanding of supermassive black holes and their environments has really changed in the last five to ten years," Graham noted. "There was this classic picture that most galaxies in the universe have a supermassive black hole at their center, and it just sits there and hums. Now we know that the environment around black holes is much more dynamic, and we're only just beginning to scratch the surface."
The flare has gradually faded over time, he said, but it will likely continue to be observed with telescopes on Earth for a few more years.
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