Possible first Superkilonova seen as two stars explode in rare cosmic event

Astronomers may have seen a space event that has never been clearly confirmed before. It is called a superkilonova, and it may have been detected in August 2025.

The event happened very far from Earth and was first noticed through strange signals coming from space. Scientists believe it involved two stars and an extremely powerful explosion.

What scientists detected in space

On August 18, 2025, scientists detected a strong signal of gravitational waves. These waves are tiny ripples in space that occur when massive objects collide with each other. 

The strong signal was detected using the LIGO and Virgo instruments. First, the signal was just a normal kilonova. 

A kilonova occurs when two neutron stars meet. Neutron stars are left over when huge stars die. Such collisions are quite strong and are responsible for the production of elements such as gold and silver. 

But soon after, something unexpected happened. The event now seemed to be taking the form of a supernova.

A supernova is the huge explosion that signifies the death of a large star. The new form drew the attention of scientists. 

The telescopic system in California noticed the light turning red and fadin g away quickly in the same region.

This light was seen in an area that was about 1.3 billion light-years away. This fits with WHERE and WHEN of the gravity wave signal.

Why this event is different

Scientists now believe this was no ordinary kilonova. They think the event started out with a supernova explosion. 

Such an explosion may have formed two neutron stars rather than one. Those two neutron stars slowly moved closer to each other over a period of time. 

When they finally crashed, they caused another huge blast, this time releasing both gravitational waves and light. 

This is the two-step process that scientists refer to as a superkilonova: the explosion of a star, followed by the crashing of two dead stars into one another. 

The idea has been floated by scientists for many years, but never had they seen the evidence in crystal clarity. 

According to Mansi Kasliwal of the California Institute of Technology, who led the research, the event looked normal at first. Only with days did it start becoming clear that something strange was happening. 

As some scientists lost interest, Kasliwal's team kept watching. To date, only one clear kilonova has ever been confirmed, and that was back in 2017. 

That is why this new event is so important: if confirmed, it would be the first known superkilonova ever recorded. 

Scientists are still analyzing the data in order to be certain. If proven true, this finding may help explain some of the most powerful explosions in the universe and how heavy elements are made.