Astronomers spot the biggest cosmic explosion ever seen, and it's 100 times the size of our solar system

Fri, 05/12/2023 - 05:20

An artist's impression of a black hole shining from absorbing a cloud of dust. — Artist impression of a black hole accretion. A cold star is pictured in the foreground.
John A. Paice

Scientists have spotted the brightest-ever explosion recorded in the cosmos.
The explosion, AT2021lwx, has been ongoing for around three years.
The blast is thought to be caused by a black hole sending shockwaves through a massive dust cloud.

Scientists have spotted the biggest cosmic explosion ever recorded.

This enormous fireball, which is about 8 billion light years away, is approximately 100 times bigger than the solar system.

It is estimated to be two trillion times brighter than the sun, and about twice as hot as the surface of the sun, according to lead study author Philip Wiseman, an astronomer at the University of Southampton.