Massive Supernova 100 Times Larger Than the Solar System Discovered

A huge explosion in space was spotted, reportedly the largest of its kind. The supernova was also brighter than previously observed supernovae.

Massive Supernova Spotted

Researchers from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom observed an enormous explosion 8 billion light-years away from Earth. According to a recent study, it has been dubbed "Scary Barbie" despite having the moniker AT2021lwx, Newsweek reported.

The blast was more than 100 times larger than our solar system and ten times brighter than any supernova previously observed.

According to reports, the explosion is a massive supernova that has erupted continuously since it was discovered three years ago. The event occurred 8 billion years ago but wasn't discovered until 2020 due to its extreme distance from Earth,

According to Philip Wiseman, the study's lead author and an astronomer at the University of Southampton, they were looking for a specific kind of supernova, and their search algorithm alerted them about the explosion.

Most supernovae and tidal disruption events, which are intense flashes caused by black holes ripping apart wandering stars, barely survive a few months before dissipating. Thus, having anything that stays as bright as the supernova in question for more than two years is not ordinary.

However, the explosion is not the brightest phenomenon ever seen. That honor belongs to a gamma-ray burst seen in October 2022 and named GRB 221009A. Due to its brightness, it was dubbed the "Brightest of All Time."

The actual cause of AT2021lwx's brightness is still unknown. However, it was first discovered in 2020 by the Zwicky Transient Facility in California and afterward observed by Hawaii's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. The scientists suggested that it might result from a gigantic gas cloud being unexpectedly sucked up by a supermassive black hole.

According to the authors of the research, the transient's spectral and photometric characteristics point to the abrupt accretion of a substantial amount of gas, maybe a massive molecular cloud.

In a previous report from Science Times, Scary Barbie was triggered when a supermassive black hole caught a giant star that strayed too close to it. The star reportedly produced much energy when the black hole sucked it.

The paper is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

What Is a Supernova?

According to NASA, a supernova is the largest explosion ever discovered. Each eruption is a super powerful explosion of a star that also results in extreme brightness.

One kind of supernova is brought on by the huge star's final surge before dying. This occurs when a star that is at least five times as massive as our sun explodes spectacularly!

Massive stars' centers, or cores, burn enormous quantities of nuclear fuel. The center heats up dramatically due to the massive amount of energy produced. Heat produces pressure, and a star's nuclear burning also produces pressure that prevents the star from collapsing.

Two opposing forces balance out in a star. The star's gravitational pull tries to compress it as tightly as possible. However, the star's burning nuclear fuel induces significant external pressure. This outward push resists the inner squeeze of gravity.

A large star cools down when its fuel runs out. The pressure decreases as a result. The star abruptly collapses as a result of gravity taking control. The Earth's mass multiplied by a million would collapse in 15 seconds. Because of how swiftly the collapse occurs, huge shock waves are produced, which force the star's outer region to burst.

Typically, a nebula-an expanding cloud of hot gas-and a highly dense core are left behind. Black holes, the most idiotic thing in the universe, may be left behind by a supernova of a star more than ten times the size of the sun.