The brightest object ever observed in the night sky is a black hole that’s growing by the equivalent of one Sun a day

By Philip Wiseman, Research Fellow, Astronomy, University of Southampton

A new study published in Nature Astronomy describes the most luminous object ever observed by astronomers. It is a black hole with a mass of 17 billion Suns, swallowing a greater amount of mass than the Sun every single day.

It has been known about for several decades, but since it is so bright, astronomers assumed it must be a nearby star. Only recent observations revealed its extreme distance and luminosity.

The object has been dubbed J0529-4351. This name simply refers to its coordinates…

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