Scientists publish video of the largest explosion in the Universe known to mankind

Scientists at the University of Southampton (UK) have discovered the strongest cosmic explosion ever observed. This became known from an article published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).

It all started with an inconspicuous flicker in the night sky. However, further observations revealed that astronomers had recorded the largest cosmic explosion in history. The unique phenomenon is caused by the absorption of a giant gas cloud by a supermassive black hole. By this time, the AT2021lwx outburst had lasted more than three years, making it the most energetic explosion in the history of observations.

AT2021lwx, tracked at a distance of 8 billion light-years, is more than 10 times brighter than any known supernova.

«We estimate that this fireball is 100 times larger than the Solar System in terms of brightness. Inthree years, AT2021lwx has managed to release about 100 times more energy than the Sun did in its 10-billion-year lifetime,» said Dr. Philip Wiseman, an astronomer at the University of Southampton.