Scientists found an unusual and intense blast of energy from a nearby galaxy. Here’s all you need to know about the gamma-ray burst.
What is a gamma-ray burst?
A Gamma-ray burst (GRB) is a massive blast of light and is considered to be one of the most powerful explosions. It is an extremely rare event and is triggered by stars colliding with a black hole that recently hit the Earth. Scientists reveal that this will help in better understanding the universe. The event came from a nearby galaxy in December 2021 and lasted for about 50 seconds.
Earlier it was believed that gamma-ray bursts were only due to the destruction of massive stars. However, now astronomers believe it can also result from a combination of two neutron stars. The gamma-ray blast was named GRB 211211A and was relatively long. It also gave out more infrared light. As per researchers, the explosion may have produced precious elements such as platinum and gold. Findings revealed that the event produced heavy elements amounting to 100 0 times the mass of Earth.
More on the research
Following last year’s massive GRBs, researchers started searching for the afterglows left by the gamma-ray burst. But, instead, they traced a blast from kilonava. It is a rare event occurring from the merger of a neutron star with a black star or another star. “This event represents an exciting paradigm shift for gamma-ray-burst astronomy,” stated Jillian Rastinejad. Rastinejad is the lead of the project and a doctoral candidate in the Northwestern University Department of Physics and Astronomy.
“When we followed this long gamma-ray burst, we expected it would lead to evidence of a massive star collapse. Instead, what we found was very different. When I entered the field 15 years ago, it was set in stone that long gamma-ray bursts come from massive star collapses,” stated Wen-fai Fong. Fong is a senior author of the study from Northwestern University.