Astronomers Discover Most Powerful Cosmic Explosions Since the Big Bang
Astronomers have seen the most energetic cosmic explosions yet, a new class of eruptions termed “extreme nuclear transients” (ENTs). These rare events occur when stars at least three times more massive than our Sun are shredded by supermassive black holes. While such cataclysmic events have been known for years, recent flares detected in galactic centres revealed a brightness nearly ten times greater than typical tidal disruption events. The discovery offers new insight into black hole behaviour and energy release in the universe’s most extreme environments.
Extreme Flares Detected by Gaia and ZTF Reveal Most Energetic Black Hole Events Yet
As per a June 4 Science Advances report, lead researcher Jason Hinkle of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy noticed two mysterious flares from galactic cores in 2016 and 2018, recorded by the European Space Agency‘s Gaia spacecraft. The scientists recognised them as ENTs because a third one, observed in 2020 by the Zwicky Transient Facility, has similar characteristics. These outbursts gave out more energy than supernovae did, and they lasted much longer than short bursts typically seen during tidal disruption events.
Tidal disruption events such as Gaia18cdj are associated with flares that are explosive and long-duration. These explosions are greater than 100 times as intense as supernovas and have been occurring for millions to billions of years. They make ENTs an uncommon, energetic, and long-lived event that cosmic explorers might use.
The ENTs’ brightness lets astronomers focus on distant galactic centres, as well as the feeding habits of black holes in the universe’s early days. “These flares are shining a light on the growth of supermassive black holes in the universe,” mentioned co-author Benjamin Shappee, a Hubble fellow at IfA. Their visibility on large scales provides a statistical tool for cosmological studies in the future.
Such findings are expanding what astrophysicists know about ENTs-but researchers stress that they’re not done wrapping their heads around these mysterious objects just yet. The results might also advance new models of how black holes and stars work together and how energy moves across galaxies. Given upcoming missions with better instruments, the discovery of more ENTs will help astronomers learn even more about these violent events in the cosmos.
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The U.S.-French SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite captured the leading edge of a tsunami wave that rolled through the Pacific Ocean on July 30, 2025 (11:25 a.m. local time), in the wake of a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The satellite captured the data about 70 minutes after the earthquake struck. SWOT is a designed to map oceans and freshwater on Earth. The satellite recorded data from the tsunami as it passed through the deep ocean.
About SWOT
According to NASA, The SWOT satellite was jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales). NASA provided the Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn) instrument, a GPS science receiver, a laser retroreflector, a two-beam microwave radiometer, and NASA instrument operations. The Doppler Orbitography and Radioposition Integrated by Satellite system, the dual frequency Poseidon altimeter, the KaRIn radio-frequency subsystem, the satellite platform, and ground operations were provided by CNES.
These advanced technology and specialized radar helps SWOT to map the height of the ocean surface. In this case, SWOT’s measurement of the tsunami wave’s height and shape in open water showed that the leading edge of the wave was about 1.5 feet (45 centimeters) high. It also captured the wave’s profile and direction as it traveled toward coastal areas. Such detailed measurements of a tsunami at sea are unprecedented.
Better disaster forecast
The NOAA Center for Tsunami Research tested its forecast models using the new satellite data and found that including SWOT’s measurements could significantly improve forecast accuracy. NASA oceanographer Ben Hamlington noted that even a 1.5-foot tsunami in the deep ocean can amplify into a 30-foot wave at the shore and it is important to detect it early. Vasily Titov, chief scientist at NOAA’s Center for Tsunami Research, added that these observations suggest SWOT could significantly enhance operational tsunami forecasting – a capability long sought since the 2004 Sumatra disaster.
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Ancient Roman Inscriptions help us understand laws, traditions, economy, and even the emotional perspective of ancient people. Their lives and histories, however, have been rendered difficult to understand because, over time, the inscriptions have been damaged. Every year, there are 1500 Roman inscriptions discovered, albeit many of them are incomplete. Fortunately, advancements in technology like the new Aeneas tool, is helping in the future understanding of the Roman inscriptions. It serves as a large language model specializing in reading, interpreting, and giving context to Roman inscriptions.
Decode Ancient Roman Inscriptions
As Per Report,Drawing its name from a hero in Roman history, Aeneas, the model has been trained on nearly 200,000 latian inscriptions, which span from the 7th century to the 8th century covering regions from Portugal to Iraq.Aneas has the capability to analyze images of damaged inscriptions and predict or even fill in missing letters or words. In addition to that, it is able to determine a time frame and location for the inscription, as well as cross-reference it with other inscriptions containing similar phrases or purposes.
Making History Clearer Through Technology
Since Aeneas is trained exclusively on Latin inscriptions, specialists believe that he is less prone to random or false errors when compared to general AI approaches. University of Sydney historian Anne Rogerson remarked that Aeneas’s proposals, as informed guesses, still involve real historical data as opposed to baseless conjectures.
Despite the model’s open availability,Made public alongside the model’s code and data, Aeneas’s creator, Google DeepMind, offered the model without restrictions.
Most impressively, Aeneas can be accessed for free, enabling students and researchers to shift through and reinterpret previously concealed fragments of Roman history to understand them on a deeper level.
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