'Absolutely monstrous': Brightest gamma-ray burst was a 1-in-10,000-years event, scientists say

Astronomers have reported that a gamma-ray explosion recorded last year in October was possibly the brightest ever to have hit Earth since the beginning of human civilisation. Researchers said that the extragalactic outburst was 70 times brighter than any other such eruption recorded to date. The gamma-ray explosion had sent light moving through the inner solar system, making astronomers curious about the occurrence.

Gamma-ray bursts, or GRBs, are the most powerful explosions to happen in the universe. They happen either as a result of collisions of superdense neutron stars or because of a massive star collapsing and dying, leading to the birth of black holes. The former ones are short GRBs, while the latter is long GRBs.

The gamma-ray explosion, known as GRB 221009A, released radiation that enveloped the Earth on October 9, 2022. The light saturated gamma-ray detectors on several space telescopes and was nicknamed the BOAT, or "brightest of all time."

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Now the BOAT has proved further why it is truly the greatest of all time. Scientists studying the rays from the gamma-rayexplosionhave concluded that nothing like this has ever happened before, at least ever since humans started roaming the planet. "It is just an absolutely monstrous burst. It is extremely extraordinary; we've never seen anything remotely close to it," Eric Burns, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University, said at a press conference in Hawaii.

It is a once-in-10,000-year event, Burns added.

"The BOAT is a once-in-10,000-year event," Burns added. "So, there's a reasonable chance this is the brightest gamma-ray burst to hit Earth since human civilisation began."

"So, you have the core collapse; this creates a black hole. The black hole powers jets that propagate out at just under the speed of light," Burns said.

"As these jets go out, they release their energy in the form of prompt gamma-ray burst emission," he added. "This is followed by what's known as afterglow, and at later times, the energy deposited into that star powers a supernova explosion."

The BOAT gamma-ray burst was located about 1.9 billion light-years from Earth, and now scientists are waiting for supernova to emerge here. However, they are still looking for one as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope haven't been able to find one yet.

"If it's there, it's very faint," Andrew Levan, a professor of astrophysics, said in a statement released by NASA on Tuesday. "We plan to keep looking, but it's possible the entire star collapsed straight into the black hole instead of exploding."

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.