Science
fromSFGATE
1 day agoDramatic burst of light in the cosmos spotted from California
A supermassive black hole produced the brightest recorded flare, emitting light equal to ten trillion suns due to a tidal disruption of a massive star.
In October, a newly discovered comet will streak so close to Earth that people may be able to make out its heavenly fireworks with the naked eye - a spectacle that won't happen again for more than a millennium, according to Space.com, so it's worth trying to spot it. This icy interstellar visitor, now given the clunky name of C/2025 R2 (SWAN), is estimated to make its closest approach to Earth at a mere 25.10 million miles away on around October 21, Space.com reports. It's visible to people with telescopes and binoculars in the Southern Hemisphere, but it may become bright enough to see unaided as its trajectory brings it into view in the Northern Hemisphere.