Have you ever wondered about the loudest noise in the entire universe? You might imagine a colossal explosion, or maybe a star screaming its last breath. But space is mostly a vacuum, so sound as we know it can’t travel far.
The loudest “sound” we’ve detected isn’t something you could hear with your ears, but rather an incredible pressure wave, originating from a supermassive black hole at the heart of a galaxy cluster called MS 0735.9+2354.
Imagine a colossal black hole, millions or even billions of times more massive than our Sun, actively feeding on surrounding gas. As it devours matter, it releases gigantic bursts of energy, creating shockwaves that push gas outwards, forming enormous bubbles in the cosmic medium.
These cosmic “ripples” are so immense, they’ve carved out cavities in the gas that are hundreds of thousands of light-years across! While we can’t hear it, this phenomenon is the most powerful pressure wave we’ve ever detected – a true cosmic roar echoing across the universe.