Long Gamma-Ray Burst

  • Released Tuesday, September 19, 2023
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Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Astronomers think a long GRB (gamma-ray burst) arises from a massive, rapidly rotating star when its core runs out of fuel and collapses, forming a black hole in the star’s center. In this artist's concept, the camera flies into a vast cloud of dust and gas the star has been steadily ejecting over thousands of years. Near the star, a particle jet driven by matter falling toward the black hole erupts from the surface at nearly the speed of light. A more distant view reveals two jets moving in opposite directions, extending into and interacting with the cloud material, and producing the GRB and its afterglow. To detect a GRB, one of these jets must point toward Earth.

Fly-in shot through a nebula to a massive star.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Close-up of a massive star showing the emergence of particle jet.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Distant shot revealing both particle jets interacting with circumstellar dust and gas.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

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This page was originally published on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
This page was last updated on Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 10:29 AM EDT.