An artist’s depiction of a black hole with gamma ray bursts shooting out into spaceMarc Ward/Shutterstock
A new explanation for how black holes get their extreme magnetic fields could also tell us how the most powerful explosions in the universe are produced.
Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are intense blasts of radiation produced from cosmic collisions and explosions. Some of the highest-energy GRBs appear to come from stars exploding in a supernova and producing a fast-spinning black hole.

Physicists think the black hole’s spinning weaves its magnetic…
Article amended on 21 August 2024We have clarified that GRB221009A is the brightest explosion ever observed.