source : Google
Black holes are invisible unless they interact with something else. Some constantly consume gas and dust, glowing brightly as matter falls in. Others remain quiet for years until a star comes close enough to be torn apart. A new study using data from NASA, ESA, and other institutions describes three extreme cases where supermassive black holes destroyed massive stars, releasing more energy than 100 supernovae. These rare events are the most energetic cosmic explosions discovered since the big bang.
Each black hole, located at the center of a distant galaxy, suddenly brightened when it destroyed a star three to ten times heavier than our Sun. This brightness lasted for several months. Scientists call these events “extreme nuclear transients.” Finding more of them could help identify massive black holes that usually remain hidden because they are inactive. These flares release enormous high-energy radiation, which affects their host galaxies.
One such event, nicknamed “Barbie,” was discovered in 2020 by the Zwicky Transient Facility. The other two were detected by ESA’s Gaia mission in 2016 and 2018. NASA’s Swift Observatory confirmed that these events were caused by black holes ripping stars apart, not by typical stellar explosions. Additional observations from NASA’s WISE spacecraft and several ground-based telescopes helped characterize these phenomena.
These findings complement recent observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on black hole growth in the early universe. Since only a small fraction of early black holes actively feed on gas and dust, extreme nuclear transients offer a new way to detect hidden black holes. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching by 2027, will use its powerful infrared capabilities to spot these rare events even from the distant early universe, helping us better understand how stars, galaxies, and black holes formed and evolved.
