Supermassive black hole located approximately 300 million light-years away from Earth was captured undergoing one of the most powerful X-ray bursts.

Another unprecedented cosmic event that amazed scientists has taken place.

In the heart of a galaxy located about 300 million light-years away from Earth, a previously dormant supermassive black hole has been observed undergoing one of the largest and most powerful X-ray bursts ever witnessed by astronomers from such a cosmic titan.

According to a report on Naftemporiki, this active phase indicates the awakening of the supermassive black hole, which has been silent for decades and dominates the region known as the “active galactic nucleus” or “AGN” at the center of the galaxy by swallowing surrounding matter and bursting with short-lived flashes called quasi-periodic eruptions (QPE).

The team named this cosmic AGN entity “Ansky.” Ansky’s awakening was first detected in late 2019, alerting astronomers who followed its formation with NASA’s Swift X-ray space telescope.

By February 2024, astronomers started to witness the black hole powering Ansky bursting at regular intervals quite vividly. This situation provided a unique opportunity, enabling real-time observation of the eruption of a supermassive black hole.

“RELEASING A HUNDRED TIMES MORE ENERGY” Johin Chakraborty from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a member of the research team using a series of ground-based and space-based telescopes and missions to observe the giant black hole and collect data, stated: “The X-ray bursts coming from Ansky are ten times larger and brighter than what we typically see in a QPE. Each of these bursts releases a hundred times more energy than what we observe elsewhere.”

Chakraborty also pointed out that Ansky’s bursts exhibited the longest period observed to date, lasting approximately 4.5 days, challenging our models to their limits and questioning our current understanding of how these X-ray flashes are formed.