A cosmic ‘Platypus’ might link two astronomical mysteries
The flash of light might also offer insight into the origins of supermassive black holes

Astronomers don’t know what causes bright cosmic explosions called luminous fast-blue optical transients, or LFBOTs (one illustrated). A new cosmic burst suggests at least some might be from a mid-sized black hole ripping up a star.
NASA, ESA, NSF's NOIRLab, Mark Garlick , Mahdi Zamani