Astronomers have identified what they say is the first recorded case of a star exploding while interacting with a black hole. The event, catalogued as SN 2023zkd and located about 730 million light-years away, was first detected in July 2023 by the Zwicky Transient Facility in California. An artificial-intelligence system called LAISS flagged the explosion as anomalous within hours, allowing ground- and space-based telescopes to begin observations almost immediately. Data gathered since then show an unusually complex light curve: the supernova brightened, faded and brightened again, and archival images reveal the progenitor star had been slowly increasing in luminosity for roughly 1,500 days before it died. A study published 13 August in the Astrophysical Journal concludes that the most plausible explanation is a massive star locked in a tight orbit with a black hole companion. Gravitational stresses either triggered the star’s collapse or ripped it apart, producing a double-peaked explosion and leaving the black hole intact. Lead author Alexander Gagliano and colleagues say the findings point to an entirely new class of stellar deaths and underline the value of real-time AI screening as next-generation surveys, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, come online. The work also offers fresh insight into how binary systems containing black holes may influence the life cycles of massive stars.