Hawaii University astronomers claim biggest explosion since Big Bang

A team of astronomers at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy has claimed the discovery of a dazzling new kind of cosmic explosion, biggest in the universe since the Big Bang

[Artist’s concept of the formation of Extreme Nuclear Transients (ENTs). (Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko)]

Maunakea (Hawaii): A team of astronomers at the University of Hawaiʻi’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) has claimed the discovery of a dazzling new kind of cosmic explosion, biggest in the universe since the Big Bang.

The Big Bang is a theory explaining beginning of the universe describes how it expanded and evolved from an initial state of high density and temperature.

In a statement released for the press on June 4, 2025 the university said the "never-before-seen type of giant space explosion" has been accidentally captured by the Gaia space telescope.

"Extreme Nuclear Transients"

The astronomers using the data from the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island detected three different stars being devoured by supermassive black holes that released more energy than 100 supernovas.

“These are the largest explosions since the Big Bang”, the astronomers said calling the explosion “extreme nuclear transients” or ENTs.

“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 as the final piece of his doctoral research at the University of Hawaiʻi’s Institute for Astronomy.

“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", Jason said.

The observed properties of the ENTs are reminiscent of extreme versions of ANTs, which are transients occurring in an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) host galaxy, NASA said based on the study published in the journal Science Advances.

Rarest than Supernova

Of the three ENTs the astronomers studied, one stood out. Astronomers named it Gaia18cdj. Gaia18cdj emitted 25 times more energy than the most energetic supernovas. In just one year, astronomers observed it radiate the energy equal to the lifetime output of 100 suns.

These extreme nuclear transient events are rare, occurring approximately 10 million times less often than supernovas.

Hinkle is set to follow up on these results as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program.

“One of the biggest questions in astronomy is how black holes grow throughout the universe,” Hinkle said.

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