Astronomers have recently discovered a new type of transient, or short-lived, object in the distant universe. Dubbed a “luminous nuclear transient”, this new class of object emits a bright burst of radiation that can be seen from billions of light years away. Scientists believe that these transients are the result of extremely energetic events, such as the merger of two neutron stars or a rapidly spinning black hole consuming matter.

In a new study published in the journal Nature, astronomers describe the first luminous nuclear transient that they have observed. This object, known as AT2018cow, was first spotted in June 2018 and is located in a distant galaxy about 200 million light years away from Earth. The object has been observed to be emitting intense bursts of X-ray and radio radiation, which have been detected from Earth. Analysis of the light from AT2018cow has revealed that it is likely the result of a rapidly spinning black hole consuming matter.

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source: Phys.org