NASA REPORTS RECORD SETTING COSMIC BLAST AS BLACK HOLE LIKELY CONSUMES STAR

WASHINGTON DC, December 9th, 2025

NASA has announced the discovery of an extraordinary cosmic explosion identified as GRB 250702B, and the agency describes the event as one of the most unusual and long lasting bursts ever observed. According to the official release, the outburst displayed a sustained emission of gamma rays for a period of at least seven hours, a duration that exceeds any previously recorded event of its type. NASA scientists report that the leading explanation is that a black hole consumed a star, although they note that the precise mechanism remains under active study.

The burst was first detected by instruments aboard several NASA missions, including the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. NASA states that the instruments recorded repeated high energy activity as the event unfolded, allowing scientists to establish a continuous record of the burst over many hours. This early detection prompted a series of follow up observations intended to locate the source and examine its environment.

NASA reports that additional observations were conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, and several large ground based observatories. These measurements identified the host galaxy as a distant and heavily dust obscured system. The presence of dense dust and gas around the explosion provided conditions that contributed to the prolonged activity recorded by NASA’s instruments, and the data indicate that the outburst originated far beyond our own galaxy.

According to the official NASA summary, scientists are examining two principal explanations for the event. One possibility is that a black hole with several thousand times the mass of the Sun drew in a star that passed too close, tearing it apart and feeding upon the debris. Another possibility is that a smaller black hole merged with a companion star and consumed it rapidly. NASA states that evidence exists for both scenarios and that further analysis is underway to determine which explanation best fits the observations.

The agency emphasizes that GRB 250702B may represent a new kind of stellar explosion, since its duration, structure, and environment do not match the patterns seen in standard gamma ray bursts. NASA reports that continued study of the data may clarify how black holes feed upon nearby stars and how these extreme events contribute to the history of galaxies throughout the universe.

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Sources

• NASA Science official release on GRB 250702B and associated observations