Astronomers observe massive explosion in space. Shone ten times brighter than a supernova for over three years.

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Astronomers observe massive explosion in space

Shone ten times brighter than a supernova for over three years

Foto: Illustration: John A. Paice

Astronomers have discovered a massive explosion in the universe using several different ground-based space telescopes, which has been observable for over three years.

The event is known as AT2021lwx and was detected in 2020 as a bright flash in the sky. When it was determined that the explosion occurred 8 billion light-years away from us, when the universe was only about 6 billion years old, the power of the explosion was realized. According to astronomers, the observation of the explosion has been ongoing for over three years and the light from the explosion is ten times brighter than the light from the most powerful supernova known to date. Supernovas, which are exploding stars, usually only shine brightest for a few hours.

Exactly what caused the explosion is unknown. However, there is a theory that it may be due to a massive gas cloud, perhaps thousands of times larger than our own sun, being swallowed by a black hole. Astronomers hope to determine the cause of the massive explosion when the powerful Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is put into operation next year.

space.com

Science,

Astronomers, AT2021lwx, ground-based space telescopes, Vera C. Rubin Observatory, massive explosion

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