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Why This Supernova Was Unusual for Several Reasons

Artificial intelligence detected a rare double supernova caused by a massive star’s interaction with a black hole, revealing new insights into stellar deaths and black hole behavior.

  • Astronomers discovered an unusual supernova named SN 2023zkd in July 2023 about 730 million light-years away, detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility using AI.
  • The star had been brightening for roughly 1,500 days before exploding due to intense gravitational stress from orbiting a black hole companion.
  • The supernova exhibited rare behaviors, including multi-year brightening and re-brightening 240 days after discovery, defying typical supernova light curves.
  • Lead author Alexander Gagliano noted that this discovery provides the clearest proof so far that interactions between a star and a nearby black hole can trigger the star’s explosion, emphasizing the important role of AI in identifying such events.
  • This finding suggests new classes of stellar explosions and demonstrates AI's power to catch rare cosmic events in real time for detailed study.
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Space broke the news in United States on Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
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