Deep Space Signal Lasting 25,000 Seconds Explained as Helium Merger

Scientists have offered a potential explanation for a mysterious deep-space signal that lasted nearly 25,000 seconds. The unusually long gamma-ray burst is believed to be caused by the merger of a black hole and a helium star in a binary system.

Sat May 30 2026

Mysterious Deep Space Signal: GRB 250702B

A deep space signal that stunned astronomers in 2025 lasted for approximately 7 hours, or 25,200 seconds. This duration is exceptionally long compared to typical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which usually last from a few milliseconds to several minutes. This signal, designated GRB 250702B, challenged everything scientists thought they knew about these powerful cosmic explosions. The longest previous GRB recorded was 15,000 seconds long. To understand this phenomenon, astrophysicists, including researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, collected various data to pinpoint its origin.

'Helium Merger' Explains Bizarre Explosion

NASA researchers theorized that the explosion was caused by a rare 'helium merger'. They proposed that the event originated from a binary system containing a stellar-mass black hole locked in a tight orbit with a helium star. A helium star is one that has lost its outer layers of hydrogen, leaving only a highly dense helium core. As the helium star naturally aged and expanded, the black hole drifted inside the star's outer envelope. It rapidly consumed the dense helium star from the inside out, leading to a huge amount of rotational energy being transferred to the black hole. This process is believed to have released a steady, continuous high-energy jet that could fire gamma-rays for 7 hours.

NASA is now preparing to study more stellar deaths, especially with its COSI telescope, which will look for more of these hidden ultra-long cosmic explosions.

*Source: YouTube: WION (2026-05-30)*

Tags: #space #astronomy #gamma-ray burst #black hole #star