NASA Light: A powerful gamma-ray burst is the astronomical picture for today

This Monday (17th), astronomical image on the site Today’s picture of astronomy It brings one of the most intense gamma-ray bursts (GRB) ever observed. The explosion called “GRB 221009A” occurred 2.4 billion light-years from Earth, but only last week the radiation it released reached Earth. Solar System.

The explosion released large amounts of X-rays, the light of which almost reached our planet along with the gamma radiation released by the event. The X-ray rings seen in GRB 221009A are reflected by the dust and gas of the Milky Way:

The greater the angle of reflection between the dust and the explosion, the greater the radius of the X-ray rings, and the magnitude of the event can also affect the time it takes for these “light echoes” to reach our planet.

It is possible that this GRB was caused by the collapse of a star several times the mass of the Sun. By the time it reached the end of its life, it might have exploded into a supernova and then formed a Black hole More than 2 billion light years from Earth.

What is a gamma ray glow?

Gamma ray bursts are highly energetic bursts that, as the name implies, release gamma rays. They are very brief on cosmic time scales, and can last less than a second or even a few minutes. However, they release energy similar to that of the sun will produce At its age of 10 billion years.

Usually, these events occur at great distances from the Earth, close to the boundaries of the observable universe. They are considered the most powerful explosions in the universe, and it seems that the shortest gamma-ray bursts were formed as a result of the collision of neutron stars and the formation of black holes, or when one of them devours these stars.

The longest ones are related to hypernovaethe intense explosions that occur when stars of up to 10 solar masses reach the end of their lives and lead to the emergence of black holes.

source: APOD