Since the first lit up astronomers’ telescopes in 2018, only 14 of these strange pulses have been detected, making them some of the rarest astronomical events on record.

Known as Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs), these lights burn faster and up to 100 times brighter than anything else scientists have seen.

Now, a group of scientists think their origin lies in the unlikely collision between a black hole and an ultra–hot sun.

LFBOTs come and go astonishingly fast, reaching their dazzling peak and fading into oblivion over days compared to the weeks or months of most stellar explosions.

Read more: Scientists are baffled by mysterious blue flashes coming from deep space that are ‘unlike anything we have observed before’ (sounds like the opening dialogue from ‘War of the Worlds’)