You don’t often catch a star’s demise kicked off by its own companion.

In this case, a massive star and a comparable‑mass black hole were locked in a tight orbit. As they spiralled closer, the black hole distorted the star and threw off enough material to trigger a new kind of supernova.

The explosion released more energy in a second than our Sun will emit over its entire lifetime and was only spotted because an AI system flagged the early outburst. The finding hints that black holes can actively cause some supernovas.