Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients Are Likely Large Black Holes Shredding Their Massive Companions

Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients Are Likely Large Black Holes Shredding Their Massive Companions

In 2024, astronomers discovered the brightest Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient (LFBOT) ever observed. LFBOTs are extremely bright flashes of blue light that shine for brief periods before fading away. New analysis of this record-breaking burst, which includes observations from the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation, challenges all prior understanding of these rare explosive events.

Astronomers Pinpoint Black Holes as the Power Source Behind Mysterious Cosmic Flashes

Astronomers Pinpoint Black Holes as the Power Source Behind Mysterious Cosmic Flashes Observations of AT 2024wpp reveal that luminous fast blue optical transients are driven by extreme stellar destruction—not supernovae Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers analyzing data from an array of telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have determined that luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are powered by an …

Astronomers Pinpoint Black Holes as the Power Source Behind Mysterious Cosmic Flashes – W. M. Keck Observatory

Observations of AT 2024wpp reveal that luminous fast blue optical transients are driven by extreme stellar destruction—not supernovae Maunakea, Hawaiʻi – Astronomers analyzing data from an array of telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island, have determined that luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are powered by an extreme tidal disruption event—one in which a black hole up to 100 times the mass of th…