Similar events known as tidal disruption events (TDEs) are known to occur on a (comparatively) smaller scale, and have been documented for over a decade. An infrared echo tells us that a dusty torus surrounds the central black hole and newly-formed accretion disk. This contrasts with a more standard black hole that typically acquires its material and energy unpredictably, resulting in irregular brightness fluctuations. The most powerful ENT documented in Hinkle’s study, Gaia18cdj, generated 25 times more energy than the most powerful known supernovae. The implications of ENTs and their massive energy surges go far beyond their impressive energy outputs.