Science

Judi Lynn

(162,384 posts) Wed Apr 12, 2023, 06:20 PM Apr 2023

Scientists Have Found the 'BOAT' Gamma Ray Burst--the Brightest of All Time

Story by Jackie Appel • 40m ago

The brightest gamma ray burst ever detected recently reached our planet. It’s 70 times longer than any other burst we’ve spotted, and effectively blinded our instruments when it hit.

Researchers say that this is probably the brightest burst to reach Earth in all of human history, with an event like this happening about once every 10,000 years.

The burst has already been a gold mine of information, and scientists are hoping that further investigation of the data will provide even more insight into areas such as the formation of gamma ray bursts and the behavior of black holes.

A gamma ray burst (GRB) is the most powerful form of explosion in the known universe. They are produced when massive stars die, right before they turn into black holes, and were originally discovered by accident when the U.S. was trying to ensure compliance with the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed in 1963. Though we’ve known about these bursts for some time now, one in particular has recently caught the attention of astronomers across institutions.

It's officially called GRB 221009A, but it frequently goes by another name: the BOAT—Brightest Of All Time.

To be fair, it’s probably not the brightest of all several billion years of cosmic history. It’s not even unusually powerful for a gamma ray burst. It just happens to check two boxes at the same time: it’s narrowly focused and it’s pointed almost directly at us. We’re basically being blinded by this explosion’s high beams.

More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-have-found-the-boat-gamma-ray-burst%e2%80%94the-brightest-of-all-time/ar-AA19jWv5

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