Image provided by Nasa on October 14, 2022 showing residual light from gamma-ray flare GBR221009A, one hour after it was detectedHandout
Astronomers have observed the brightest flash of light ever, emitted at a distance of 2.4 billion light-years from Earth and likely caused by the birth of a black hole.
This burst of gamma rays, the most intense form of electromagnetic radiation, was first observed by telescopes in Earth orbit on October 9. And its residual light continues to be studied by scientists around the world.
Scientists estimate that these eruptions, which last several minutes, are caused by the death of giant stars, more than 30 times the size of the Sun, explained to AFP the astrophysicist Brendan O’Connor.
The star explodes and becomes a supernova, before collapsing in on itself and forming a black hole. Matter then forms a disc around the black hole, is absorbed and released there in the form of energy traveling at 99.99% of the speed of light.
The flash released photons carrying 18 teraelectronvolts of energy (an 18 followed by 12 zeros) — a record — and impacted long-wave communications in Earth’s atmosphere.
“This breaks records, both in the amount of photons and in the energy of the photons that reach us,” said Brendan O’Connor, who made new observations of the phenomenon on Friday using the infrared instruments of the telescope of the Gemini South Observatory, Chile.
“Something this bright, this close, is really a once-in-a-century event,” added the astrophysicist.
“Gamma-ray flares in general release in a matter of seconds the same amount of energy that our Sun has produced or will produce in its entire lifetime — and this event is the brightest gamma-ray flare ever …”, he clarified.
The flare, named GRB221009A, was observed Sunday morning (East Coast Time) by numerous telescopes, including several from NASA.
Referring to a “rush of adrenaline” when these kinds of events occur, Brendan O’Connor, who is affiliated with the University of Maryland and George Washington University, will continue to scan the skies over the next few weeks. in search of the distinctive signs of supernovae in order to confirm their hypotheses on the origin of the flash.