This is a groundbreaking discovery in the history of astronomy. Sky researchers have discovered AT2021lwx, a phenomenon dubbed the largest cosmic outburst in history. The outburst was stronger, brighter and visible for much longer than previous such discoveries. The research was led by researchers from the University of Southampton.
The observed phenomenon persisted for three years. According to the researchers, it took place about 8 billion light years from our planet.
“Most supernovae (or exploding stars – ed.) and related events only last for a few months before they fade away. Something that was clear for more than two years was unusual for us” – said study author Dr. Philip Wiseman, a research fellow at the University in Southampton, England, quoted by CNN.
The biggest cosmic explosion in history. How did it happen?
The explosion was identified as AT2021lwx. Astronomers speculate as to how this phenomenon came to be. The first theory was that one of the stars could have been “pulled in” by the black hole. However, experts point out that in order to achieve such an explosion, the star would have to be several times larger than the Sun. More likely, therefore, is the “sucking” of a huge gas cloud.
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Researchers at the Zwicky Transient Facility in California admit they stumbled upon the phenomenon by chance while looking for another supernova.
They indicate that the discovered phenomenon is about 100 times brighter than the cumulative brightness of all the stars in the Milky Way.
In addition, AT2021lwx dethroned the largest cosmic explosion to date, the gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A.
The star is about 8 billion light years from Earth. A number of observations were carried out in observatories in Chile and Spain, among others.
dsk/polsatnews.pl
2023-05-12 11:59:00
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