Distant black hole’s mega-jet dwarfs the Death Star’s power

Astronomers report an ultra-powerful jet from AT2018hyz, a tidal disruption event around a supermassive black hole about 665 million light-years away. Nicknamed “Jetty McJetface,” the jet’s energy output is estimated up to 5×10^55 ergs—between a trillion and 100 trillion times the Death Star’s fictional energy—and it is currently about 50 times more luminous than at first detection in 2018. Models suggest the peak brightness will occur in 2027 as the jet evolves. Jets from TDEs are rare (roughly 1% of cases), and future radio surveys like the SKA could find more such events.