Scientists have discovered a phenomenally powerful burst of cosmic radiation – known as a gamma-ray burst – when a massive star dies and becomes an all-consuming black hole.
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are among the most energetic cosmic explosions to light up space since the Big Bang event, which is thought to have created the universe. Astronomers believe that most GRBs occur when a really large star collapses inward at the end of its life, after the materials needed to sustain the nuclear fusion reaction have been exhausted.
This heralds a great explosion the birth of a black holeduring which time the newly formed singularity travels at near the speed of light, emitting jets of gamma radiation that can be a million trillion times brighter (yes, million trillion) is brighter than the sun. X-rays are also released as fast-moving jets collide with gas clouds ejected from a dead star.
On Sunday, Oct. 9, detectors aboard NASA’s orbiting spacecraft fleet were triggered when a wave of powerful gamma rays and X-rays flooded the solar system, signaling an unusually powerful gamma-ray burst.
After the initial detection of the event, designated GRB 221009A, astronomers around the world raced to prepare the world’s most powerful telescopes for the burst. A number of orbiting spacecraft, including NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, also joined the effort.
Together, the sharp robotic eyes were able to capture the explosion’s evolving light signature over optical, infrared, gamma and X-rays. The signal originated about 2.4 billion light-years away from Earth in the direction of the Sagitta constellation and lasted for several hundred seconds. According to these initial observations, GRB 221009A is the brightest GRB recorded since the dawn of modern technology. Sciencepotentially by a factor of 10.
Image of GRB 221009A’s afterglow taken by the Swift X-ray telescope (Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester))
“Given that most other long GRBs are caused by the collapse of a massive star, we have every reason to believe that we will find direct evidence of a supernova,” Ph.D. student Jillian Rastinejad Northwestern UniversityState of Illinois, which helped describe the event. “But it will take more work and time to confirm this, and the universe can always surprise us.”
However, the scientific community has an hour in their observations of GRB 221009A – because in just over a month, the gamma-ray source will be temporarily obscured by the glow from our Sun.
When it appears again early next year, astronomers will return to work to unravel the mysteries of how such a powerful burst of light came about.
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Anthony Wood is a freelance science writer for IGN
