Astronomers puzzled as a cow, a camel, a koala and a finch exploded in space. But, how?

Astronomers have been puzzled by a peculiar class of space explosions known as luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs), which are considerably brighter than supernovas and emit “blue” light due to their extreme heat. The first one, nicknamed the Cow, was discovered in 2018, and several more have been found since, including the Koala and the Tasmanian devil. The latest addition is called the Finch (or the Fawn), found outside any galaxy about 3 billion light-years away from our own galaxy, according to a New York Times report. The Finch’s location presents challenges to current theories about LFBOTs. One leading theory suggests that LFBOTs result from a massive star undergoing a failed supernova, collapsing into a black hole and producing powerful jets. However, the Finch’s distance from nearby galaxies raises questions about this theory, as a massive star shouldn’t have been able to reach such a distant location without an unseen cluster of stars nearby. Another possibility is tidal disruption events, where a black hole consumes material from a companion star, emitting bright light in the process. However, massive black holes outside of galaxies are not typically expected. Alternatively, LFBOTs may be caused by the merger of two neutron stars, which can take billions of years, allowing these events to migrate far away from their galaxies. Upcoming telescopes, like the ULTRASAT space telescope mission, could potentially discover more LFBOTs. Astronomers hope to gain valuable insights into the origins of LFBOTs as more are found outside galaxies. The continued use of animal-based naming conventions for these phenomena aids in better coordinating discoveries and making them more memorable and easier to classify. Researchers remain open to different possibilities and emphasise the importance of not ruling out any theories yet, as there is still much to learn about these enigmatic space explosions. With inputs from agencies