Astronomers witness ‘sudden awakening’ of massive black hole in far-away galaxy

The galaxy SDSS1335+0728 was found to be emitting much more light at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths than before. Picture ESO/M Kornmesser/PA

Astronomers believe they may have witnessed a massive black hole wake up and become active in a far-away galaxy.

The cosmic event was first spotted in 2019 when a US telescope detected an “unusual brightness” around 300 million light-years away.