Astronomers have discovered a mysterious new type of cosmic explosion that outshines almost all supernovae ever discovered.
Within 10 days, the strange explosion became brighter than 100 billion suns, then faded to almost nothing a few weeks later, a devastating event shorter and more dramatic than a typical supernova.
This rapid event likely represents a new class of explosions that have not been studied before.
Supernovas are bright explosions that occur when large stars burn their nuclear fuel, collapse and release their outer layers of gas into space.
Every year, astronomers observe hundreds of supernovae that suddenly brighten, then gradually fade. Usually, a supernova reaches its peak brightness after about 20 days, and its brightness is billions of times brighter than the sun. Over the following months, the explosion slowly fades. (Russia Today)
