Earth was recently hit by an "unusual intense blast of energy" from a nearby galaxy, and scientists think this has the potential to alter our understanding of the universe.
Last year, a 50-second-long blast of energy was spotted by scientists. It was headed towards Earth and is known as a gamma-ray burst (GRB) - the most powerful explosions in the universe.
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A rare event of cosmic proportions - literally!
Naturally, scientists began to study what remained of the blast to understand where it came from. They found that the blast appeared to have emanated from a kilonova - a rare event that happens when a neutron star merges with another compact object - a black hole or another neutron star.
The study essentially challenged how we understand the origin point of such long-lasting GRBs. In addition, it could also open avenues of mysteries of the universe - like where its heaviest elements come from.
Also read: Strange Blast Of Light Turns Out To Be A Black Hole Pointing Straight At Earth
The galaxy that this GRB came from is also mysterious, for it is very young and still in the process of forming stars which is the exact opposite of the only other known nearby galaxy that has hosted a kilonova event.
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"This event looks unlike anything else we have seen before from a long gamma-ray burst," said Jillian Rastinejad, who led the study. who led the study. "Its gamma rays resemble those of bursts produced by the collapse of massive stars."
"Given that all other confirmed neutron star mergers we have observed have been accompanied by bursts lasting less than two seconds, we had every reason to expect this 50-second GRB was created by the collapse of a massive star. This event represents an exciting paradigm shift for gamma-ray burst astronomy," the Independent quoted Rastinejad.
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Also read: Two Minerals Never Seen Before On Earth Discovered On A Grounded Meteorite
The blast was first spotted by NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in December 2021. Scientists have been looking for answers since then. This particular kilonova produced elements that amounted to 1,000 times the Earth's mass, suggesting that gold is produced by kilonovae in the universe.
The findings from the study titled "A kilonova following a long-duration gamma-ray burst at 350 Mpc" was published in the journal Nature.
What do you think about these findings? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
References
Griffin, A. (2022, December 8). ‘Unusual, intense energy’ from galaxy could change story of cosmos. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/space/nasa-blast-energy-burst-gamma-ray-grb-b2240729.html
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGlhdGltZXMuY29tL3RlY2hub2xvZ3kvc2NpZW5jZS1hbmQtZnV0dXJlL2ludGVuc2UtYmxhc3Qtb2YtZW5lcmd5LWhpdC1lYXJ0aC01ODcwOTguaHRtbNIBamh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGlhdGltZXMuY29tL2FtcC90ZWNobm9sb2d5L3NjaWVuY2UtYW5kLWZ1dHVyZS9pbnRlbnNlLWJsYXN0LW9mLWVuZXJneS1oaXQtZWFydGgtNTg3MDk4Lmh0bWw?oc=5
2022-12-11 05:53:49Z
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