Scientists find the most intense explosion ever seen in the universe

Scientists have discovered the most powerful blasts of energy in the known universe.
Dubbed extreme nuclear transients, or ENTs, the cosmic explosions are unprecedented in their intensity.
They happen when massive stars – much bigger than our Sun – go too close to a supermassive black hole and are torn to pieces.
The resulting collision throws out vast amounts of energy that travel right across the cosmos.
"We've observed stars getting ripped apart as tidal disruption events for over a decade, but these ENTs are different beasts, reaching brightnesses nearly ten times more than what we typically see," said Jason Hinkle, who led the study.
'Not only are ENTs far brighter than normal tidal disruption events, but they remain luminous for years, far surpassing the energy output of even the brightest known supernova explosions.'
The most energetic ENT, for instance, throws out 25 times more energy than the most powerful known supernova. A supernova can emit as much energy a year as the Sun does over its 10-billion-year lifetime, but ENTs can emit 100 times that over a single year.
The discovery came from work looking for flares that were being emitted from the centre of galaxies. In data from the European Space Agency 's Gaia telescope, Jason Hinkle spotted two strange flares that appeared to last longer than normal transients, and had other unexpected characteristics.
"Gaia doesn't tell you what a transient is, just that something changed in brightness," said Hinkle. "But when I saw these smooth, long-lived flares from the centers of distant galaxies, I knew we were looking at something unusual."
That began a years-long project to find out what the flares were coming from. Eventually, a third was found and further research showed that the ENTs were a new kind of unseen astrophysical event.
The ENTs are notable not only for their intensity and unprecedented nature. Researchers also hope they can be used to better understand black holes – and the universe that holds them.
"ENTs provide a valuable new tool for studying massive black holes in distant galaxies. Because they're so bright, we can see them across vast cosmic distances – and in astronomy, looking far away means looking back in time,' said Benjamin Shappee, a co-author on the study.
'By observing these prolonged flares, we gain insights into black hole growth when the universe was half its current age when galaxies were happening places—forming stars and feeding their supermassive black holes 10 times more vigorously than they do today."
But such ENTs are hard to find, happening at least 10 million times left often than supernovae. Researchers hope that upcoming new equipment such as the Vera C Rubin Observatory and Nasa's Roman Space Telescope will allow for more of them to be discovered.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

3 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

The horrifying truth about why you should NEVER use your phone on the toilet

Taking your phone to the toilet may keep you entertained while you do your business. But this common habit can turn your device into a haven for dangerous microorganisms, a scientist warns. Dr Primrose Freestone, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester, says fecal bacteria can easily reach your phone in the bathroom. This includes E. coli, which can result in nasty diarrhea and stomach cramps, and Pseudomonas, which causes infections in the blood and lungs. Even after you've washed your hands with soap, these bugs can travel back to your hands once you touch your phone again. As a result, phones should be kept out of the toilet altogether, and regularly sanitized with alcohol wipes. 'The phone will at some point get contaminated, so periodically disinfecting your phone is a good idea,' she told MailOnline. 'My Nokia gets a disinfectant wipe over twice a week.' When we flush a toilet, a plume of tiny liquid droplets containing bacteria and fecal matter, invisible to the naked eye, is violently ejected. According to prior research at the University of Colorado Boulder, this so-called 'toilet plume' can travel 5 feet (1.5 metres) in eight seconds. Therefore, anything that is within five feet of the toilet bowl can become contaminated, whether it's the floor, the wall or a nearby book. Research also suggests that this dreaded plume still escapes when we've got the toilet lid closed. As a result, Professor Freestone urges people to keep their phone well away from the toilet, or even better, out of the bathroom entirely. 'Toilet areas adjacent to toilets, because of the toilet spray trajectory, are pretty contaminated,' she told MailOnline. 'It does not matter where you go, there will be faecal bacteria on lots of [bathroom] surfaces. 'So soaps and taps, toilet and wash basin surfaces, door handles, bath mats – the list is long.' If you're holding your phone while you empty you bowels, putting it on the floor before flushing is one of the worst things you can do. That's because fecal matter whizzes out of the toilet upon flushing and eventually settles onto the floor. 'The floor around the toilet will – if not disinfected regularly – have traces of faeces with lots gut bacteria, which will stay alive for hours and days,' said Professor Freestone. 'So I would not put your phone on the floor next to the toilet as it is likely to pick up the faeces and the bacteria associated with the waste product.' Even if you put your phone on another nearby surface, such as the cistern or the nearby windowsill, it could risk contamination too. Professor Freestone acknowledges it can be hard to be separated from your phone, even for the relatively short time it takes to use the toilet. In extreme instances – such as not wanting to miss a very important phone call, for example – she suggests keeping it in your pocket for the whole time. Even though we may not appreciate it, phones are high-touch items particularly at risk of bacterial contamination just like doorknobs, light switches and taps. Therefore, we should be washing our hands much more often before or after touching them, while also keeping them sanitized, she added. Using a 70 per cent alcohol wipe or a mild soap and water mixture are good options, but don't submerge it if it's not waterproof, or use harsh chemicals like bleach. The specialist in home hygiene and food safety has also weighed in on the best way to position your toilet paper. In the 'over' position, the next square of toilet paper is facing the user, while in the 'under' position, the next square of toilet paper is facing the wall. Aerosol droplets containing urine, faeces and vomit stay in the air for up to 20 seconds Tiny droplets carrying traces of urine, faeces, vomit and viruses float into the air at mouth-level after a toilet is flushed, a 2021 study warned. It showed that tens of thousands of particles are spewed into the air by a flush and can rise several feet above the ground. Droplets were spotted floating around five feet (1.5m) in the air for more than 20 seconds, with researchers pointing out this poses a risk of inhalation. Small droplets and aerosols are so light they can float around in the air on tiny draughts, before settling on a surface. Researchers say that they can also act as vectors for diseases. SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid, for example, has been found alive in human faeces. Therefore, scientists warn that flush-propelled particles from an infected person's faeces could float into the air, be sucked in by a passer-by, and infect them.

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Why earwax can predict if you're at risk of developing Parkinson's disease

Published: | Updated: Scientists have revealed that the wax in your ears could actually say a lot about your health. Researchers in China have identified key differences in the makeup of earwax in people with Parkinson's disease compared to people without the condition, suggesting the sticky stuff holds secrets that could flag a person's risk of eventually developing the condition. Scientists at Zhejiang University took earwax samples from 100 people with Parkinson's and 79 without. They chose earwax because much of it is made up of sebum, an oily substance that undergoes chemical changes in cases of Parkinson's, and releases distinct volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Parkinson's triggers neurodegeneration, inflammation, and oxidative stress, altering sebum's composition and creating a distinct odor. It also progressively damages the brain, causing tremors, stiffness, and slow movement. Over time, symptoms worsen to include sudden freezing, speech loss, swallowing problems -often leading to pneumonia - and falls, both common causes of death among people with Parkinson's. Four specific types of VOCs stood out among people with the condition, suggesting that earwax could potentially be an accessible indicator of Parkinson's, which would allow patients to avoid invasive diagnostic tests and spinal taps. Around 1million Americans and 10million people globally currently have the disease, with nearly 90,000 new cases diagnosed each year. As that number is projected to climb, early diagnosis is more important than ever. While there is no cure, medication regimens can be started early to treat symptoms and slow down the progression of the disease. Researchers fed the VOC data from the samples of earwax into an algorithm that categorized subjects' Parkinson's status accurately 94 per cent of the time, demonstrating the potential for a fast, reliable diagnostic tool. The VOCs that stood out to researchers were all significant in differentiating between people with the condition and those without it, even after accounting for age and lifestyle factors. Two of the VOCS, Ethylbenzene & 4-Ethyltoluene, are compounds commonly found in plastics and petroleum products. Their presence suggests inflammation in the brain, which is a key driver of the breakdown of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine, while often thought of as a 'feel good' neurotransmitter, is a key chemical messenger that regulates movement control. As dopamine levels plummet while Parkinson's progresses, people become steadily more immobile. Another significant VOC was Pentanal, which is produced when fats break down. Elevated levels suggest cell damage, a hallmark of Parkinson's. The compound has been linked to an accumulation of protein clumps in patients' brains. And the VOC 2-Pentadecyl-1,3-dioxolane likely reflects issues with the metabolism of fats, which could have originated from microbiome changes in the skin of patients. It's unclear whether this VOC has any direct links to PD, but there is an expanding body of research pointing to a connection between PD and an imbalance in the gut microbiome. Soaring: Parkinson's death rates rose from 42 to 65 deaths per 100,000 from 1999–2017 Research suggests that VOCs are produced by the balance of good bacteria in the gut, which have also been associated with brain health. An imbalance allows harmful bacteria to flourish, leading to a proliferation of toxins that can cause inflammation in the brain. VOCs come from a wide array of toxic sources in the environment, from pesticides used to grow food, industrial chemicals in gasoline, and solvents in everyday items like dry cleaning chemicals and adhesives, to cleaning products, car emissions, and contaminated groundwater. Parkinson's is believed to be caused by a confluence of genetic and environmental factors. It is the world's fastest-growing brain disorder, and, according to NIH research, 'exposure to environmental toxicants is the principal reason.' In the US, deaths from Parkinson's disease have more than doubled in the past 20 years, with about 35,000 deaths in 2019 compared to 14,500 in 1999. While considering the clues that earwax can provide about Parkinson's development is new, investigating the role that VOCs play is not. A sweeping 2023 meta-analysis identified distinct VOCs present in the breath and skin oil in people with the disease compared to those without it. These compounds are specifically linked with oxidative stress, or a barrage of damage that cells endure before dying.

Times

17 hours ago

• Times

A robot surgeon? I'll put my money on that

T hank you for waiting, the robot will see you now. Nine in ten keyhole operations won't need a human surgeon in the room within the next decade, according to the NHS. One in five operations are already carried out by robots, guided remotely, to improve outcomes while cutting costs. Science fiction is becoming surgical fact because robotic-assisted surgery can mean smaller incisions, reduced scarring and quicker recovery. There's no need to take my word for it: Sir Jim Mackey, the chief executive of the NHS, said: 'We are using every tool to ensure patients get the best possible treatment. Expanding the use of new tech, such as robotic surgery, will play a huge part.' Wes Streeting, the health and social care secretary, added: 'I know how important this is. The NHS saved my life from kidney cancer with an operation led by a world-class surgeon being helped by a robot.'