Most Powerful Supernova Ever Discovered Blasts Away Competition

A blazing-bright object appears to be the most luminous supernova ever witnessed, and it's blowing the top off researchers' models of how such explosions are powered. When certain stars reach the end of their fuel supply, or gain a sudden influx of new material, they explode into a brilliant last stand called a supernova. The All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) searches for changing spots of light in the sky, and caught the glowing feature when it brightened in June.