Scientists discover record-breaking gamma-ray burst that lasted 7 hours
A super rare cosmic event has scientists buzzing: GRB 250702B, a gamma-ray burst that lasted a wild seven hours and kept repeating, was spotted by NASA's Fermi Telescope in July.
Unlike the usual quick bursts from dying stars, this one might be a star getting slowly devoured by a black hole—a theory that's shaking up what we thought we knew about these space explosions.
GRB 250702B is rewriting the playbook
Most gamma-ray bursts only last seconds, but this one went on for hours and came back for more, leaving experts stumped.
The "black hole eating its star" idea is supported by researchers like Hendrik van Eerten, who described it as "a very compelling one" because it helps explain these rare, powerful flashes.
For a quick refresher: GRBs are some of the universe's brightest explosions, usually caused by supernovae, but GRB 250702B is rewriting the playbook.