Scientists observed a flare from supermassive black hole J2245+3743, about 10 billion light-years away, that reached the brightness of roughly 10 trillion suns. Over months the burst brightened by a factor of 40 and peaked about 30 times brighter than any previously recorded black hole flare. Researchers conclude the most likely cause is a tidal disruption event — a very large star (≈30+ solar masses) being torn apart and swallowed — and the flare is currently fading as it is monitored. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.
Giant Star Torn Apart by Supermassive Black Hole Produced Most Powerful Flare Ever Recorded
Scientists observed a flare from supermassive black hole J2245+3743, about 10 billion light-years away, that reached the brightness of roughly 10 trillion suns. Over months the burst brightened by a factor of 40 and peaked about 30 times brighter than any previously recorded black hole flare. Researchers conclude the most likely cause is a tidal disruption event — a very large star (≈30+ solar masses) being torn apart and swallowed — and the flare is currently fading as it is monitored. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.
01:28, 06.11.2025Science
Extraordinary flare from a distant black hole likely caused by a tidal disruption event
A massive star appears to have wandered too close to a far larger black hole and was shredded and consumed, producing what researchers describe as the most powerful flare of its kind ever observed. The burst of radiation came from a supermassive black hole catalogued as J2245+3743, roughly 10 billion light-years from Earth.
The host black hole is estimated to have a mass of about 500 million times that of the Sun. During months of monitoring the flare brightened by a factor of 40, and at its peak reached a luminosity roughly equivalent to 10 trillion Suns — about 30 times brighter than any previously recorded flare from a supermassive black hole.
The flare was first noticed in 2018 by ground-based observatories, including the Palomar Observatory operated by the California Institute of Technology. Because light from the event took about 10 billion years to reach us, astronomers are effectively looking back into the ancient universe when observing the explosion.
Why researchers think this was a tidal disruption event (TDE)
After evaluating several possibilities, the team concluded that the most likely explanation is a tidal disruption event: the black hole is pulling a star apart as it falls inward. When a star ventures within the black hole's tidal radius, it can be stretched and torn — often described as being "spaghettified" — producing shocks and hot outflows that emit ultraviolet and optical radiation visible to telescopes.
"The energetics show this object is very far away and very bright," said Caltech astronomer Matthew Graham, the study's lead author. He added that the ongoing but fading flare suggests astronomers are observing the star while it is still being consumed — "a fish only halfway down the whale's gullet."
The team estimates the disrupted star was extremely large — likely at least 30 solar masses. The flare remains detectable but is fading as astronomers continue to monitor the source.
Looking ahead
Researchers say other similar, rare events probably await discovery and plan to use next-generation instruments, such as the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, to search for comparable flares across the sky. The detailed results were published on Nov. 4 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Reporting by Eric Lagatta for USA TODAY; lead researcher Matthew Graham and collaborators; observation first flagged in 2018, analysis published in Nature Astronomy.