2023-07-27 04:00:13
A team of researchers from the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) has just made a discovery that illuminates the world of astrophysics. They indeed observed an explosion of gamma rays of an intensity never reached before. This explosion (An explosion is the rapid transformation of matter into another matter having a…), resulting from the collapse of a star (A star is a celestial object emitting light independently, similar to a massive…), gave birth to a black hole (In astrophysics, a black hole is a massive object whose gravitational field is so intense…). For the first time, astronomers were able to witness the birth of a black hole.
An illustration of a black hole at the core of a collapsing star, generating powerful jets of particles moving at near the speed of light.
Credit: NASA.
It is within the framework of their work within the Space Plasma and Aeronomy Research Center (CSPAR) of the UAH that Peter Veres, assistant professor, Michael S. Briggs, principal investigator (A researcher (fem. researcher) refers to a person whose job is to do research…) and assistant director of the CSPAR, and Stephen Lesage, a graduate research assistant, made this discovery. They used the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), an instrument of the Space Telescope (A space telescope is a telescope placed beyond the atmosphere. The…) Fermi Gamma-ray in low orbit (Low Earth orbit (Low Earth orbit, LEO, in English) is a type of terrestrial orbit located…) terrestrial. The GBM, which can observe the entire sky unobstructed by the Earth, tracks gamma-ray bursts.
The GBM, a collaborative effort between the National Center for Space Science and Technology in the United States and the Institute (An institute is a permanent organization created for a certain purpose. It is…) Max Planck (Max Planck (born Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck on April 23, 1858 in Kiel, Germany…) for extraterrestrial physics (Physics (from the Greek φυσις, nature) is etymologically…) in Germany, is managed by the Marshall NASA Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The 221009A gamma-ray burst was observed about 2.4 billion light-years away in the direction of the constellation of the Arrow.
Credit: International Gemini Observatory.
According to Dr Veres, “This gamma-ray burst was extremely bright. We only expect to see one like this every 10,000 years or so.” The most impressive thing is that the luminosity of this burst was such that the GBM could not follow the impressive number of incoming photons.
Detecting gamma-ray bursts is a daily task for GBM researchers. However, this burst was so particular that it required special attention. Stephen Lesage thus took the lead in the work of reconstructing the lost counts. “During a gamma-ray burst, we witness the death of a massive star, about 30 times more massive than the sun, and the formation of a black hole,” explains Dr Veres. “This gamma-ray burst was so bright that we were able to follow its evolution for nearly three hours.”
Gamma-ray burst 221009A is also one of the closest and probably one of the most energetic ever detected. Details of this discovery have been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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