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Mysterious Object in Space Either a Black Hole or Supernova, Highly Unique Either Way

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There is a new and mysterious spatial object and scientists do not know what it is, but whether it is a black hole or supernova, it is unique.

According to Space.com, the object could be a black hole that was created out of a collision between two black holes, ejecting it from its home galaxy. It could also be a supernova that is burning far longer than any supernova before it has.

While supernova's flame out in spectacular fashion within a year, this one appears to have been burning for decades. Only identified as SDSS1133, the thing has been going strong for more than 60 years and appears to be getting brighter.

Led by Michael Koss, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hawaii - Manoa, the team of researchers published their work in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"We suspect we're seeing the aftermath of a merger of two small galaxies and their central black holes," study co-author Laura Blecha, an Einstein Fellow in the University of Maryland's Department of Astronomy, said in a press release. "Astronomers searching for recoiling black holes have been unable to confirm a detection, so finding even one of these sources would be a major discovery."

With observations being made with the Keck Observatory and multiple other instruments, Koss' official hypothesis is that the object is a black hole. SDSS1133 is some 2,600 light years away from its home galaxy, Markarian 177. The dwarf galaxy is in the Big Dipper, which lies within the Ursa Major.

"Whether SDSS1133 is a recoiling black hole or an exploding mega-star, we are observing something that has never before been seen in the universe," Koss said in a press release. "Dwarf galaxies are very common.

"Therefore it would be highly probable that other recoil events would appear before too long. The hope is that we would be able to observe one near Earth and measure the gravitational waves."

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