Sudden Awakening of a Gigantic Black Hole Discovered, 1 Million Times Larger Than the Sun

A team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory in Germany has discovered the awakening of a supermassive black hole located 360 million light-years away from Earth in the Virgo constellation. The findings were published in the scientific journal Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A).

According to scientists, fluctuations in luminosity in this remote part of the universe were first noticed in 2019. For the first time, experts were able to observe such a process in real time. The awakened black hole is located at the center of a galaxy known as SDSS1335+0728. Its mass exceeds that of the Sun by a factor of 1 million.

Researchers have found that the galaxy recently doubled its brightness in the mid-infrared range, became four times brighter in the ultraviolet range, and at least ten times brighter in the X-ray range.

Astronomers have also proposed an alternative theory for the brightness of the distant galaxy's core, linking it to a tidal disruption event during which the black hole tears apart a nearby star. However, such incidents typically last no more than one year.