- Astronomers suspect that the flare is a a burst of radiation that occurs when a black hole consumes a hapless star, ripping it apart and swallowing it.
- Astronomers are continuing to monitor the black hole flare, though its luminescence is fading.
- The researchers believe that other similar events may be awaiting discovery in the universe.
A giant star that seems to have wandered too close to an even bigger black hole may have been shredded and devoured in a cosmic meal that produced the most powerful flare of its kind ever seen.
At least, that’s the theory of a team of astronomers who tracked and studied the burst of energy emanating from a supermassive black hole 10 billion light-years away.
Released by a black hole a staggering 500 million times the mass of our sun, the flare is considered “the most powerful and most distant flare of energy ever recorded from a supermassive black hole,” the researchers claimed in a press release announcing the findings. At its peak, the flare shined 10 trillion times brighter than the sun.
Here’s everything to know about the distant supermassive black hole, and the burst of cosmic energy it blasted out into the ancient universe.
What are black holes?
Supermassive black holes, regions of space where the pull of gravity is so intense that even light doesn’t have enough energy to escape, are often considered terrors of the known universe. Most galaxies are believed to have one at their center.
When any object gets close to a supermassive black hole, it’s typically ensnared in a powerful gravitational pull. That’s due to the event horizon – a theoretical boundary known as the “point of no return” where light and other radiation can no longer escape.
As their name implies, supermassive black holes are enormous (Sagittarius A*, located at the center of our Milky Way, is 4.3 million times bigger than the sun.) They’re also scarily destructive and perplexing sources of enigma for astronomers who have long sought to learn more about entities that humans can’t really get anywhere near.
Astronomers spot largest black hole flare ever seen
The black hole in question, the official name of which is a mouthful (J2245+3743), was first observed in 2018 by two ground telescopes, including one based at the California Institute of Technology’s Palomar Observatory.
The flare brightened by a factor of 40 during months of observations, peaking at 30 times brighter than any previous black hole flare seen to date, according to the researchers. Because of the time it takes for light to travel, astronomers observing the distant event are essentially glancing back in time when the universe was much younger.
Astronomers are continuing to monitor the black hole flare, though its luminescence is fading.
“The energetics show this object is very far away and very bright,” Caltech astronomer Matthew Graham, who was the lead author on a recent study, said in a statement.
Burst of energy could be from consumption of wayward giant star
After considering a list of suspects behind the flare, the researchers determined that the most likely culprit is what’s known as a tidal disruption event.
The cosmic phenomenon is a spectacular burst of radiation that occurs when a black hole consumes a hapless star, ripping it apart and swallowing it. As the victim is “spaghettified” – or stretched out like a noodle – shocks and outflows with high temperatures become visible to telescopes in both ultraviolet and visible light.
Because this particular black hole flare is still going, the researchers suggest that they are witnessing a star still being consumed, not unlike “a fish only halfway down the whale’s gullet,” Graham said in his statement. If the flare is indeed a tidal disruption event, that would make the gobbled-up star the size of at least 30 of our suns, according to the researchers.
The researchers believe that other similar events may be awaiting discovery in the universe, and are hoping to harness the power of ground telescopes like the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory to find them.
The research was published Nov. 4 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
