Astronomers discover what may be the universe’s brightest object

This illustration provided by the European Southern Observatory depicts the quasar (M Kornmesser/ESO via AP)

Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day.

The record-breaking quasar shines 500 trillion times brighter than our sun, they said.