Astronomers spot tidal disruption event at over 30,000 light-years offset
Astronomers just caught a supermassive black hole ripping apart a star, more than 30,000 light-years from the center of its host galaxy.
That's the farthest offset ever recorded for an optically discovered tidal disruption event.
The blast was so bright in ultraviolet light, it outshone the entire host galaxy for several months, reaching the brightness of 10 billion suns.
This rare moment was first detected in November 2025 by the Zwicky Transient Facility in California.
AI sifted 500,000 nightly observations
The discovery happened thanks to an advanced AI algorithm that sifted through 500,000 nightly observations.
Scientists later found this black hole is about 1 million times heavier than our sun and suspect it wandered away from its original home after galaxies collided.
This marks the first time astronomers have spotted such an optical event far from a galactic core, showing how AI can help us find hidden black holes and explore new corners of space.