Astronomers Discover a Mysterious Object 570 Billion Times Brighter Than the Sun

A team of astronomers has uncovered an extraordinary object in the universe that shines with a brilliance 570 billion times greater than our Sun. This astonishing luminosity pushes the boundaries of physics and challenges our understanding of stellar phenomena.

Located billions of light years away, this colossal ball of hot gas surpasses the brightness of hundreds of billions of suns. Its extreme brightness makes it hard to fathom, prompting scientists to speculate on its nature. While they have some theories, the precise identity of the object remains uncertain.

One leading hypothesis suggests it could be a rare type of supernova known as a magnetar. This particular magnetar appears so powerful that it stretches the energy limits of physics, potentially marking it as the most luminous supernova observed to date.

Krzysztof Stanek, a professor of astronomy at Ohio State University and co-principal investigator of the study, noted, "If it really is a magnetar, it’s as if nature took everything we know about magnetars and turned it up to 11," humorously indicating that its brightness exceeds all known measurements. The object was first detected by the All Sky Automated Survey of Supernovae (ASAS-SN), a network of telescopes designed to identify bright cosmic events. Despite its extreme brightness, it remains invisible to the naked eye due to its distance of 3.8 billion light years.

Since its inception in 2014, ASAS-SN has discovered nearly 250 supernovae, but ASASSN-15lh stands out for its exceptional intensity. This object is about 200 times more luminous than the average supernova, 570 billion times brighter than the Sun, and 20 times brighter than all the stars in the Milky Way combined.

Stanek emphasized the significance of this discovery, stating, "We have to ask, how is that even possible? It takes a lot of energy to shine that bright, and that energy has to come from somewhere."

Todd Thompson, also a professor of astronomy at Ohio State, proposes a possible explanation: the supernova might have given rise to a millisecond magnetar, a type of star that spins rapidly and possesses a remarkably strong magnetic field.

The requirements for such a magnetar are staggering: to achieve its brightness, it would need to spin at least 1,000 times per second and convert nearly all of that rotational energy into light with nearly 100 percent efficiency. This would make it the most extreme magnetar conceivable.

Thompson raises an intriguing question: "Given those constraints, will we ever see anything more luminous than this? If it truly is a magnetar, then the answer is basically no."

In the coming months, the Hubble Space Telescope will aid astronomers in unraveling this mystery by observing the host galaxy surrounding the object. The team may find that this bright object is located at the center of a large galaxy, suggesting it might not be a magnetar at all. Instead, the surrounding gas could provide evidence of a supermassive black hole.

If this is the case, the bright light may be attributed to a previously unseen type of event, according to Christopher Kochanek, a study co-author and professor of astronomy at Ohio State. This would represent an unprecedented phenomenon at the heart of a galaxy.

Whether it turns out to be a magnetar, a supermassive black hole, or something entirely different, this discovery is likely to inspire new ideas about how cosmic objects form and evolve in the universe.

Reference :- www.science.org