The light of 10 trillion suns: Scientists report the biggest black hole flare ever recorded

A supermassive black hole violently gobbled up an enormous star, producing a gargantuan cosmic outburst, according to a new study.

A supermassive black hole violently gobbled up an enormous star, producing a gargantuan cosmic outburst, according to a new study.

The black hole flare, as the phenomenon is known, is thought to be the biggest and most distant ever recorded --- it was detected from 10 billion light-years away.

"This is really a one-in-a-million object," said Matthew Graham, a research professor of astronomy at the California Institute of Technology and the lead author of the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Astronomy.