LONDON - A group of researchers claim they've identified the most distant explosion ever detected, an ultrapowerful blast more than 13 billion light years away from Earth.

The gamma ray burst was first spotted by a specialized NASA satellite in April 2009, but researchers said this week that they've since gathered data showing it happened at the edge of the observable universe.

Gamma ray bursts are extremely short but extremely powerful explosions that can glow as brightly as a million million suns, making them among the easiest objects to spot across the cosmos.

Astronomers not connected to the study expressed reservations over the explosion's reported distance, but said that if identified correctly it could be among the farthest things ever found.