An explosion in space believed to be caused by a massive star collapsing on itself to form a black hole may have been the brightest blast ever seen. Astronomers say the event was the most intense since the beginning of human civilisation.
The explosion happened two billion light years from Earth and blinded space instruments. It produced a pulse of radiation that swept through the solar system in October last year.
Scientists said this type of event is a gamma-ray burst (GRB), and have named it GRB 221009A. An analysis of 7,000 GRBs suggests that GRB 221009A is 70 times brighter than any yet seen and an event like this occurs once every 10,000 years.
