Astronomers say they've seen the largest explosion yet – and we just had to talk to them Astronomers have observed the largest explosion yet in space that we're aware of, a years-long event involving a supermassive black hole estimated to be one billion times more massive than the Sun that continues to rage. The eruption, codenamed AT2021lwx, was first recorded by ground-based telescopes – the Zwicky Transient …
When you look at all these explosions that we see throughout the Universe it seems that black holes are the only permanent existence in the Universe, everything else (galaxies and even us) is not going to be here forever given the vast numbers of black holes everywhere. So if everything is swallowed by black holes eventually and all the black holes start to swallow each other, will there be one super-massive black hole exploding in the distant future to create the next Universe edition with a bigger bang?
Thanks El Reg, this is a good story.
...all the black holes start to swallow each other, will there be one super-massive black hole...
Unless our understanding of the expansion of the universe is completely wrong, not a chance. If black holes swallowed everything in their host galaxies the gravitation attraction between the black hole remnants of galaxies would never overcome the rate of expansion.
Would it even be possible for black holes to suck each other up? If you have an equal and opposite amount of suck, does that suck cancel out? Would we reach a point of equilibrium? If one hole sucks more than another could the bigger sucker, suck stuff out of the smaller sucker?
Nope, not even. Hawking radiation means they too will fade away and disappear.
Of course, by the time supermassive black holes start winking out of existence, the Universe will be a cold, dark place because all of the stars will be long dead.
And Life anywhere as well, most likely.
But they to will disappear. Nothing is permanent, and we can only wonder what will happen to the Universe in the end of everything.
> was first recorded by ground-based telescopes – the Zwicky Transient Facility in California, and the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System in Hawaii
Whilst it is true the the space telescopes are generally immune to the effects of all those Internet from Above constellations, it is the data from the ground-based telescopes that tell us where to point them in the first place. Especially the all-sky surveys and the (amateur astronomer-driven) repeated target surveys (e.g. checking galaxies for supernovae).
And that is ignoring the obvious primary function of the Hawaii installation: it does what it days on the tin!
True, but I was assuming that even those not interested in the science - which certainly includes the "stop whining about clear skies" brigade - can figure out that anything with "Impact" and "Last Alert" in the name is something that they would want to keep operating optimally.
As a "brigade" member.... whilst also being one who mulls the nature of stuff in the wee hours of the morning, black holes bug me. Mind you fermionic matter bugs me too... Anyhoo, my point being is that "thought experiments" (aka dossing on the couch daydreaming about BIG stuff) don't really need telescopes, so I can't see what the hoo-ha is all about. It's not like Venus is going anywhere except 'round and around the sun so its kinda like watching DMAX SPACE from inside some shed.. Just keeps repeating whilst the 3rd law of thermodynamics needs a cup of tea to stay warm.
Never seen a cat video but I like a nice bit o' pr0n.
Obviously if you consider astronomy to be "dossing on the couch daydreaming", your opinion might seem justified to you. The problem is you're totally wrong, and just trying to justify your preference for porn over science -- which you are entitled to, I admit. "Entitled" being the operative word here.
I completely and utterly agree and, oh, how I wish I didn't have to give Elmo money for Starlink.
But as long as Australia's NBN is a sham, where I am quoted $750,000(!) to get fibre - less than hour from Melbourne, living along a major thorough-way, with a house that otherwise has utilities like electricity, even phone (*) - I will need to rely on those sat swarms to get anything approaching acceptable Internet (Missus and I wfh, cat videos and pr0n are just a side benefit).
(*) not just me, the entire town isn't even on NBN's radar for fibre and probably won't be during my lfietime.
It's not a black hole that you need to be concerned about, but the enormous (suitable Reg units required) asteroid heading straight to Earth that has evaded detection and is only a month or two out from certain collision, to trigger an extinction event.
If you can convince your mortgage provider of the existence of such an asteroid at the requisite distance, then get the party started
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