Astronomers have observed the brightest and most energetic black hole flare ever recorded — a cosmic explosion as bright as 10 trillion suns, caused by a supermassive black hole swallowing a massive star 10 billion light years from Earth.
The phenomenon, known as a tidal disruption event (TDE), occurs when a black hole’s extremely strong gravity tears apart and devours a wandering star. According to Matthew Graham, professor of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and lead author of the paper: “This event really is a one-in-a-million phenomenon.”
