Space scientists were thrilled by the most powerful star explosion ever detected to date. Two NASA space telescopes spotted the explosion or the highest-energy gamma-ray burst (GRB) on Apr. 27.

NASA scientists combined the images into a video animation (scroll down to watch) to show the level of brightness of the star explosion. The observed star is in the last stage of its life, 3.6 billion light-years from Earth.

'Start' the slideshow to see some of NASA's compiled Supernova images.

NASA's Swift Space Telescope and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope spotted the historic GRB. According to astronomers, most GRBs occur when massive stars lose their fuel. In the process, jets of material erupt off it as its core dies into a black hole. Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest eruptions ever observed in the universe.

"We have waited a long time for a gamma-ray burst this shockingly, eye-wateringly bright," Julie McEnery, a project scientist for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement. "The GRB lasted so long that a record number of telescopes on the ground were able to catch it while space-based observations were still ongoing."

One of the gamma-rays emitted during the eruption was three times more energetic than similar ones detected by Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT).

The gamma-ray burst (called GRB 130427A) was also the longest ever recorded, NASA officials also noted.

"The GeV [energy] emission from the burst lasted for hours, and it remained detectable by the LAT for the better part of a day, setting a new record for the longest gamma-ray emission from a GRB," NASA officials said.

VIDEO: NASA Documents Brightest Star Explosion (Space.com)

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