1,000 and Counting
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- Written by:
- Francis Reddy
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- Scientific consulting by:
- Neil Gehrels
- View full credits
After nearly 11 years in space, NASA's Swift spacecraft detected its 1,000th gamma-ray burst (GRB) on October 27, 2015. Astronomers classify GRBs by their duration, as the blast of high-energy light often lasts a minute or less. The October 27 event, dubbed GRB 151027B, is of the "long" variety, where the gamma-ray pulse lasts more than two seconds. They are believed to occur in a massive star whose core has run out of fuel and collapsed into a black hole. As matter falls toward the newly formed black hole, it launches jets of subatomic particles that move out through the star's outer layers at nearly the speed of light. When the particle jets reach the stellar surface, they emit gamma rays, the most energetic form of light. In many cases, the star is later seen to explode as a supernova. Explore the images to learn more.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Cover image courtesy of NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde
GRB 151027B image courtesy of NASA/Swift/E. Troja
Swift GRB map courtesy of NASA/GSFC/2MASS/J. Carpenter, T. H. Jarrett, R. Hurt
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Writer
- Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park) [Lead]
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Scientists
- Neil Gehrels (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Eleonora Troja (University of Maryland College Park)
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ID: 12038 Produced Video
NASA's Swift Catches its 1,000th Gamma-ray Burst
Read moreLabeled image. GRB 151027B, Swift's 1,000th burst (center), is shown in this composite X-ray, ultraviolet and optical image. X-rays were captured by Swift's X-Ray Telescope, which began observing the field 3.4 minutes after the Burst Alert Telescope detected the blast. Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) began observations seven seconds later and faintly detected the burst in visible light. The image includes X-rays with energies from 300 to 6,000 electron volts, primarily from the burst, and lower-energy light seen through the UVOT's visible, blue and ultraviolet filters (shown, respectively, in red, green and blue). The image has a cumulative exposure of 10.4 hours. Credit: NASA/Swift/Phil Evans, Univ. of Leicester || grb151027B_UVOT_XRT_labeled_1080.jpg (912x1080) [403.9 KB] || grb151027B_UVOT_XRT_labeled_2160_print.jpg (1024x1213) [394.1 KB] || grb151027B_UVOT_XRT_labeled_2160.jpg (1823x2160) [1.0 MB] || grb151027B_UVOT_XRT_labeled_2160_searchweb.png (320x180) [43.8 KB] || grb151027B_UVOT_XRT_labeled_2160_thm.png (80x40) [3.6 KB] ||
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ID: 10369 Produced Video
Naked-Eye Gamma-ray Burst Model for GRB 080319B
Read moreGamma-ray bursts that are longer than two seconds are caused by the detonation of a rapidly rotating massive star at the end of its life on the main sequence. Jets of particles and gamma radiation are emitted in opposite directions from the stellar core as the star collapses. In this model, a narrow beam of gamma rays is emitted, followed by a wider beam of gamma rays. The narrow beam for GRB 080319B was aimed almost precisely at the Earth, which made it the brightest gamma-ray burst observed to date by NASA's Swift satellite. ||
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