A distant supermassive black hole may have produced the most powerful tidal-disruption–like flare on record after consuming a star at least 30 times the mass of the Sun. The candidate event, J2245+3743, was first detected by ZTF in 2018 and appears to originate from an AGN with a black hole exceeding 500 million solar masses about 10 billion light-years away. Observers measured a peak luminosity near 10 trillion Suns, brightness roughly 30 times greater than other known flares, with variability up to 40-fold. Researchers will search ZTF archives and expect the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to find more such extreme events.
Record-Breaking Black Hole Flare — Outshines 10 Trillion Suns After Devouring a Star
A distant supermassive black hole may have produced the most powerful tidal-disruption–like flare on record after consuming a star at least 30 times the mass of the Sun. The candidate event, J2245+3743, was first detected by ZTF in 2018 and appears to originate from an AGN with a black hole exceeding 500 million solar masses about 10 billion light-years away. Observers measured a peak luminosity near 10 trillion Suns, brightness roughly 30 times greater than other known flares, with variability up to 40-fold. Researchers will search ZTF archives and expect the Vera C. Rubin Observatory to find more such extreme events.
05:10, 08.11.2025Science
Record-Breaking Black Hole Flare — Brighter Than 10 Trillion Suns
A distant supermassive black hole appears to have produced an unprecedented energy outburst after swallowing a star at least 30 times the mass of the Sun. The candidate event, catalogued as J2245+3743, has not yet been definitively confirmed as a tidal disruption event (TDE), but if verified it would be both the most powerful and the most distant flare ever linked to a supermassive black hole.
What was observed
First detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) in 2018 from the Palomar Observatory, the flare was monitored by multiple space- and ground-based telescopes for months. Observers recorded a peak luminosity roughly equivalent to 10 trillion Suns and a brightness about 30 times greater than other known flares. During the observation window the peak brightness varied by about a factor of 40.
Why this is notable
The source sits in an active galactic nucleus (AGN) estimated to host a black hole with more than 500 million solar masses and lies about 10 billion light-years away. For comparison, the universe is roughly 13.8 billion years old. If J2245+3743 is a TDE, the shredded star would be unusually massive; the previously strongest candidate, nicknamed 'Scary Barbie' (ZTF20abrbeie), was estimated to involve a star of roughly 3–10 solar masses.
K. E. Saavik Ford, an astronomer at CUNY and a member of the research team, said: 'If you convert our entire Sun to energy using Einstein's famous formula E = mc², that's the amount of energy this flare has emitted since observations began.'
Matthew Graham, lead author and research professor at Caltech, described the event as exceptional: 'The energetics show this object is very far away and very bright. This is unlike any AGN we've ever seen.'
When the paper was prepared for publication in Nature Astronomy (reported Nov. 4), the flare was still ongoing but fading. Graham suggested the dimming could mean the star has not yet been fully consumed, likening the scene to 'a fish only halfway down the whale's gullet.'
Next steps
The research team plans to mine ZTF archives for similar extreme events. They also expect the newly completed Vera C. Rubin Observatory to reveal more such flares as it begins wide-area sky surveys, improving our understanding of rare, high-energy interactions between stars and supermassive black holes.
Note: The classification as a tidal disruption event remains provisional pending further analysis and follow-up observations.