Black Hole Flare Is Biggest and Most Distant Seen
16 days ago
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- #cosmic-event
- #black-hole
- A massive star was likely shredded by a supermassive black hole, creating the most powerful and distant flare ever recorded.
- The flare, observed in 2018, brightened by a factor of 40 and was 30 times more luminous than any previous black hole flare.
- The supermassive black hole, named J2245+3743, is 500 million times more massive than the Sun and resides 10 billion light-years away.
- The event is likely a tidal disruption event (TDE), where a star is slowly consumed by a black hole.
- The star involved in the TDE is estimated to be at least 30 times more massive than the Sun.
- The flare's extreme brightness was confirmed by multiple observations, ruling out other explanations.
- The discovery was made possible by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and other surveys, highlighting the importance of long-term astronomical observations.
- The findings suggest that similar massive TDEs may be occurring elsewhere in the universe.
- The study was funded by the NSF, Simons Foundation, NASA, and others, with contributions from researchers worldwide.