Astronomers have found an unusual gamma-ray burst that can uproot our entire understanding of this phenomenon and how stars can reach the end of their lives.

Gamma-ray bursts are events thought to be caused by hugely destructive occurrences, such as a massive star dying; these events normally last anywhere from a few milliseconds to a few minutes. The bursts recently detected have lasted for days, hundreds or thousands of times the norm, and what is even more alarming is that the bursts seem to be repeating. Scientists are still trying to puzzle out what could be the cause of this.

This event is unprecedented, and Antonio Martin-Carrillo, an astronomer at University College Dublin, Ireland, even has this to say: “unlike any other seen in 50 years of GRB observations.” The signal was first recorded on July 2 of this year; however, the origin could not be pinpointed at that time. They then consulted the researchers working at the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, who were able to determine that it was not from our galaxy and was, in fact, a few billion light-years away. According to Martin-Carrillo. “What we found was considerably more exciting: the fact that this object is extragalactic means that it is considerably more powerful.”

All of this is to say that this never-before-seen event, which depicts the end of one of the most massive celestial bodies, is a complete departure from what we expect to see with these kinds of events. It has changed some scientists’ outlook on how these gargantuan objects can affect the universe around them when these celestial bodies die.