Black Hole Produces Brightest Flare Ever, With Light of 10 Trillion Suns
Astronomers have observed the brightest black hole flare ever recorded, a cosmic explosion that blazed with the energy of 10 trillion suns after a supermassive black hole tore apart and consumed a giant star, according to a report by Space.com.
New York, November 5: Astronomers have observed the brightest black hole flare ever recorded, a cosmic explosion that blazed with the energy of 10 trillion suns after a supermassive black hole tore apart and consumed a giant star, according to a report by Space.com.
The event, described as a “one-in-a-million object” by lead researcher Matthew Graham of the California Institute of Technology, occurred about 10 billion light-years away, making it both the largest and most distant flare ever detected. Astronomers Discover Milky Way’s Heaviest Stellar Black Hole, 33 Times the Mass of the Sun.
Scientists believe the flare was triggered when a star at least 30 times the mass of the Sun ventured too close to a black hole roughly 500 million times the Sun’s mass, unleashing an extraordinary burst of energy that has continued for over seven years. The outburst was found to be 30 times more luminous than any previous black hole flare observed, underscoring the scale of the phenomenon.
Initially detected in 2018 through a ground-based sky survey, the event’s true magnitude only became clear in 2023, when data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii revealed its staggering distance and luminosity. “If it’s that far away and still this bright, the energy output must be enormous,” Graham said, calling the discovery a breakthrough in understanding how black holes behave. Black Hole in Cosmic Horseshoe Galaxy Could Be the Largest Ever Detected.
The finding challenges long-held assumptions about black holes being mostly inactive cosmic objects. “We used to think most supermassive black holes just sit quietly at the centers of galaxies,” Graham noted. “Now we know they can be far more dynamic and unpredictable.”
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 05, 2025 07:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).