An unprecedented gamma-ray burst was discovered in October last year. However, according to a recent study, a new explosion was discovered that although not as big as this gamma-ray burst, it lasted longer and could be described as the largest explosion in space after it.This new explosion discovered is 10 times brighter than any supernova
Led by Philip Wiseman, a research fellow at the University of Southampton, astronomers have recently published their research in the Royal Astronomical Society. This dazzling explosion, which they describe as an extreme extension of the known black hole accumulation scenarios, emerged with this research.
Known as AT2021lwx, this event was first detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility in California three years ago, but it took months for Wiseman and colleagues to even calculate how far this event is from Earth. The results revealed it was eight billion light-years away, meaning the source had to be surprisingly bright to be seen from such a large distance.“Suddenly, our eyes popped out. Because this thing can’t be a supernova. What we’re observing is 10 times brighter, and you can’t create this energy with an exploding star. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before,” Wiseman said. said.
As a result of their research, the team suggested that the explosion was sparked by the collision of a large cloud of hydrogen gas with a supermassive black hole 100 million times larger than the Sun. According to the researchers, as the cloud gathered around the black hole, intense tidal forces sent shock waves through the gas that illuminated them and made them visible for billions of light years, resulting in this massive explosion.
To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers plan to continue both monitoring AT2021lwx and looking for similar transient bursts. In the next 10 years, even more powerful tools are expected to be online and research will accelerate.
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