It is commonly believed that there is no sound in space, but this is not true. For example, NASA’s ultrasound technology allows us to hear the sounds of black holes, and in 2025, astronomers recorded sounds from deep space that lasted for up to 7 hours. This gamma-ray burst (GRB), known as GRB 250702B, was detected by five high-energy telescopes and came from a galaxy that may be billions of light-years away.
Gamma bursts are massive explosions in space, often thought to be caused by the destruction of stars. They’re not new to science, with U.S. satellites having observed them since the 1960s, but GRB 250702B’s length is definitely unique, and scientists may now know what caused it. In an interview with BBC Night Sky magazine, Eliza Neights, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said that this abnormal gamma burst may be the result of a helium merger.
Helium mergers occur when a helium star orbiting a black hole expands enough that the black hole begins to eat it. It’s a rapid process, and the force creates long-lasting jets that create long-lasting gamma-ray bursts. In terms of its duration and the circumstances that caused it, GRB 250702B remains a special example of this long-studied space phenomenon.
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What makes GRB 250702B so special
Rendering of a black hole emitting a gamma-ray burst – NASA/LSU/Brian Monroe
Clearly, GRB 250702B is not a typical gamma-ray burst. Seven hours of sound is interesting enough, even more so when you consider that the average GRB rarely lasted more than a few minutes, and the previous record holder only lasted around four hours. NASA researcher Eliza Neights also pointed out that the way GRB 250702B appears is also very unusual, with all three bursts appearing to come from the same point in the sky.
As mentioned, Neights explained that GRB 250702B was likely caused by a helium merger, which is quite remarkable in itself. Gamma-ray bursts usually occur when two neutron stars orbit each other and eventually merge, or when a large star suddenly collapses into a black hole and creates a jet. Even if helium mergers occur occasionally, they are rarely observed because they are so faint, as most telescopes are designed for shorter, brighter signals from space.
Even short trips to space can change an astronaut’s biology, so with this in mind, most of our research into space is done on Earth. Apparently, the vastness of the universe is more than happy to contact us from afar, sending out loud signals like GRB 250702B to keep astronomers on their toes.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
