Red flashes brighter than 1000 suns detected from black hole

Q.  Violent red flashes brighter than a thousand suns have been spotted emitting from a distant black hole by British astronomers. What is the name of the black hole?
- Published on 17 Mar 16

a. V402 Cygni
b. V043 Cygni
c. V414 Cyngi
d. V404 Cygni

ANSWER: V404 Cygni
 
The black hole, named V404 Cygni, is 7,800 light years away from Earth (or about 46 quadrillion miles). It is believed to be flashing after spitting out jets of matter which it could not swallow. This rare astronomical phenomenon has been spotted by University of Southampton researchers. Using the William Herschel Telescope in the mountains of the Canary Islands, the team took ultra high-speed images of the flashes in July 2015, poring over them before eventually publishing their research this month.

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