“If you take a typical supernova and multiply it a thousand times, we’re still not at how bright this is – and supernovas are among the most luminous objects in the sky,” said Danny Milisavljevic, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy. REFITT “combs through millions of alerts” to help researchers find interesting phenomena in space - but for something hidden in plain sight, like Scary Barbie, the computer didn’t even have a “template” to look for it. Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library via Getty Images “Scary Barbie” is the nickname astronomers are calling one of the most energetic and luminous transients ever observed: a supermassive black hole tearing apart a massive star. While the “outlier” death event lay undetected for years among other telescopic data, a Purdue lab’s artificial intelligence engine - the Recommender Engine For Intelligent Transient Tracking (REFITT) - helped uncover the “terrifying” anomaly. Scientists called it one of the “most luminous, energetic, long-lasting transient objects” found lurking in a forgotten corner of the night sky.īhagya Subrayan, a Purdue University graduate student, said researchers believe the black hole “pulled in a star and ripped it apart,” in a brutal process called “ spaghettification.” The object, documented in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, was assigned a random designation, ZTF20abrbeie, leading to the creation of its trendy nickname.

▶ Watch Video: Listen to the soothing sounds of a supermassive black holeĪstronomers have detected an impressive supermassive black hole devouring a star – and they’ve nicknamed it “Scary Barbie,” in part because of its terrifying power.

Scariest astronomical phenomena