US EditionThis 7-Hour Cosmic Explosion Is the Longest Gamma-Ray Burst Ever Seen. Could It Be From an Elusive Class of Black Hole?
GRB 250702B lasted seven hours with repeating bursts over days and may be the first intermediate-mass black hole event detected, researchers say.
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6 Articles
This 7-hour cosmic explosion is the longest gamma-ray burst ever seen. Could it be from an elusive class of black hole?
Astronomers have discovered a seven-hour cosmic explosion, the longest gamma-ray burst ever seen, which could be the first evidence of an intermediate-mass black hole devouring a star.
The Longest GRB Ever Detected Is An Intriguing Puzzle
In July 2025, telescopes detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB) that lasted seven hours. Most GRBs last only milliseconds, or a few minutes. Only a handful have lasted longer than that, and July's GRB was the longest ever detected. It hints at a new, exotic type of explosive event, and astronomers have a few candidates.
Gamma bursts may be omnipresent through the cosmos, but they remain extremely mysterious. This is particularly the case of GRB 250702B, a very long burst of almost seven hours whose origin remains debated, but which leaves some clues. It is now more than half a century that the
Journey to Extragalactic Gamma Ray Burst GRB 250702B
Journey to Extragalactic Gamma Ray Burst GRB 250702B | NOIRLabThis video begins with the stellar field around the host galaxy of GRB 250702B—the longest gamma-ray burst that astronomers have ever observed. The image comprises observations from the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy-fa…
Gemini and Blanco Telescopes Unlock Clues to Origin of Longest Gamma-ray Burst Ever Observed
Astronomers have observed the longest-ever gamma-ray burst -- a powerful, extragalactic explosion that lasted over seven hours. Rapid follow-up observations with the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera and the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, provided crucial information about the possible origin of this extraordinary event and the galaxy tha…
Gemini and Blanco Telescopes Unlock Clues to Origin of Longest Gamma-ray Burst Ever Observed - Data acquired with multiple NSF NOIRLab facilities indicate gamma-ray burst lasting over seven hours resides in a massive, extremely dusty galaxy
Astronomers have observed the longest-ever gamma-ray burst — a powerful, extragalactic explosion that lasted over seven hours. Rapid follow-up observations with the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera and the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, provided crucial information about the possible origin of this extraordinary event and the galaxy that
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