Astronomers Discover Most Energetic Cosmic Explosions Ever Observed

Astronomers in Hawaii have discovered a new kind of explosion, and they’re the most energetic stellar explosions ever recorded. Meet “extreme nuclear transients” (ENTs): when supermassive black holes tear apart stars at least three times heavier than the Sun, triggering an immense release of energy. An international team of researchers describes the discovery of this newly observed phenomenon in a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, shedding light on events that will help astronomers study the distant universe. “We’ve observed stars getting ripped apart as tidal disruption events for over a decade, but these ENTs are different beasts, reaching brightnesses nearly ten times more than what we typically see,” Jason Hinkle, lead author of the study and PhD student at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, said in a W. M. Keck Observatory statement. Tidal disruptions consist of supermassive black holes tearing apart any star that wanders too close, ... Read full article.