{ "id": 14227, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA Missions Detect Record-Breaking Burst", "description": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester) || XRT_image_crop.jpg (1084x1080) [629.3 KB] || XRT_image_crop_print.jpg (1024x1020) [657.0 KB] || XRT_image_crop_searchweb.png (320x180) [133.7 KB] || XRT_image_crop_web.png (320x318) [191.7 KB] || XRT_image_crop_thm.png (80x40) [26.1 KB] || ", "release_date": "2022-10-13T15:30:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-01-06T01:35:18.251897-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 368759, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080.gif", "filename": "LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This sequence constructed from Fermi Large Area Telescope data reveals the sky in gamma rays centered on the location of GRB 221009A. Each frame shows gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (MeV), where brighter colors indicate a stronger gamma-ray signal. In total, they represent more than 10 hours of observations. The glow from the midplane of our Milky Way galaxy appears as a wide diagonal band. The image is about 20 degrees across.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 }, "main_video": null, "main_credits": { "Written by": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ], "Scientific consulting by": [ { "name": "Elizabeth Hays", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" } ], "Produced by": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 313755, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313755", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.

Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)

", "items": [ { "id": 209991, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368754, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/XRT_image_crop.jpg", "filename": "XRT_image_crop.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)", "width": 1084, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1170720 } }, { "id": 209992, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368755, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/XRT_image_crop_print.jpg", "filename": "XRT_image_crop_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)", "width": 1024, "height": 1020, "pixels": 1044480 } }, { "id": 209993, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368756, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/XRT_image_crop_searchweb.png", "filename": "XRT_image_crop_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 209994, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368757, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/XRT_image_crop_web.png", "filename": "XRT_image_crop_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)", "width": 320, "height": 318, "pixels": 101760 } }, { "id": 209995, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368758, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/XRT_image_crop_thm.png", "filename": "XRT_image_crop_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered by otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst. The dark vertical line is an artifact of the imaging system.Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 313754, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313754", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Astronomers around the world are captivated by an unusually bright and long-lasting pulse of high-energy radiation that swept over Earth Sunday, Oct. 9. The emission came from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful class of explosions in the universe – that ranks among the most luminous events known.

On Sunday morning Eastern time, a wave of X-rays and gamma rays passed through the solar system, triggering detectors aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and Wind spacecraft, as well as others. Telescopes around the world turned to the site to study the aftermath, and new observations continue.

The signal, originating from the direction of the constellation Sagitta, had traveled an estimated 1.9 billion years. Astronomers think it represents the birth cry of a new black hole, one that formed in the heart of a massive star collapsing under its own weight. In these circumstances, a nascent black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space.

According to a preliminary analysis, Fermi’s Large Area Telescope detected the burst for more than 10 hours. One reason for the burst's brightness and longevity is that, for a GRB, it lies relatively close to us, but it’s also among the most energetic and luminous bursts ever seen regardless of distance. Another GRB this bright may not appear for decades.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 313756, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313756", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This sequence constructed from Fermi Large Area Telescope data reveals the sky in gamma rays centered on the location of GRB 221009A. Each frame shows gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (MeV), where brighter colors indicate a stronger gamma-ray signal. In total, they represent more than 10 hours of observations. The glow from the midplane of our Milky Way galaxy appears as a wide diagonal band. The image is about 20 degrees across.

Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration

", "items": [ { "id": 209996, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368759, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080.gif", "filename": "LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This sequence constructed from Fermi Large Area Telescope data reveals the sky in gamma rays centered on the location of GRB 221009A. Each frame shows gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (MeV), where brighter colors indicate a stronger gamma-ray signal. In total, they represent more than 10 hours of observations. The glow from the midplane of our Milky Way galaxy appears as a wide diagonal band. The image is about 20 degrees across.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 } }, { "id": 209997, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368760, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/LAT_221009A_burst_opt_720.gif", "filename": "LAT_221009A_burst_opt_720.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This sequence constructed from Fermi Large Area Telescope data reveals the sky in gamma rays centered on the location of GRB 221009A. Each frame shows gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (MeV), where brighter colors indicate a stronger gamma-ray signal. In total, they represent more than 10 hours of observations. The glow from the midplane of our Milky Way galaxy appears as a wide diagonal band. The image is about 20 degrees across.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 720, "height": 720, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 209998, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368761, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080_searchweb.png", "filename": "LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This sequence constructed from Fermi Large Area Telescope data reveals the sky in gamma rays centered on the location of GRB 221009A. Each frame shows gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (MeV), where brighter colors indicate a stronger gamma-ray signal. In total, they represent more than 10 hours of observations. The glow from the midplane of our Milky Way galaxy appears as a wide diagonal band. The image is about 20 degrees across.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 209999, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368762, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080_thm.png", "filename": "LAT_221009A_burst_opt_1080_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This sequence constructed from Fermi Large Area Telescope data reveals the sky in gamma rays centered on the location of GRB 221009A. Each frame shows gamma rays with energies greater than 100 million electron volts (MeV), where brighter colors indicate a stronger gamma-ray signal. In total, they represent more than 10 hours of observations. The glow from the midplane of our Milky Way galaxy appears as a wide diagonal band. The image is about 20 degrees across.Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 313757, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313757", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Images taken in visible light by Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope show how the afterglow of GRB 221009A (circled) faded over the course of about 10 hours. The explosion appeared in the constellation Sagitta and occurred about 1.9 billion years ago. The image is about 4 arcminutes across.

Credit: NASA/Swift/B. Cenko

", "items": [ { "id": 210000, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368763, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/UVOT_221009A_afterglow_circle.gif", "filename": "UVOT_221009A_afterglow_circle.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Images taken in visible light by Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope show how the afterglow of GRB 221009A (circled) faded over the course of about 10 hours. The explosion appeared in the constellation Sagitta and occurred about 1.9 billion years ago. The image is about 4 arcminutes across.Credit: NASA/Swift/B. Cenko", "width": 1080, "height": 1079, "pixels": 1165320 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 313758, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313758", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "As above but without the burst circled.

Credit: NASA/Swift/B. Cenko", "items": [ { "id": 210001, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368764, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/UVOT_221009A_afterglow_nocircle.gif", "filename": "UVOT_221009A_afterglow_nocircle.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "As above but without the burst circled.Credit: NASA/Swift/B. Cenko", "width": 1080, "height": 1079, "pixels": 1165320 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 313759, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313759", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Astronomers think GRB 221009A represents the birth of a new black hole formed within the heart of a collapsing star. As illustrated here, the black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space.

Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde", "items": [ { "id": 210005, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368769, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/GRB_jet_banner.jpg", "filename": "GRB_jet_banner.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Astronomers think GRB 221009A represents the birth of a new black hole formed within the heart of a collapsing star. As illustrated here, the black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space. Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 210002, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368765, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/Gamma_Ray_Burst_Two_Component_Jet_Stream_1920x1080.mp4", "filename": "Gamma_Ray_Burst_Two_Component_Jet_Stream_1920x1080.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Astronomers think GRB 221009A represents the birth of a new black hole formed within the heart of a collapsing star. As illustrated here, the black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space. Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 210004, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368767, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/twoComponentJetStream_960x540.mov", "filename": "twoComponentJetStream_960x540.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Astronomers think GRB 221009A represents the birth of a new black hole formed within the heart of a collapsing star. As illustrated here, the black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space. Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 210006, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368768, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/Gamma_Ray_Burst_Two_Component_Jet_Stream_1920x1080.webm", "filename": "Gamma_Ray_Burst_Two_Component_Jet_Stream_1920x1080.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Astronomers think GRB 221009A represents the birth of a new black hole formed within the heart of a collapsing star. As illustrated here, the black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space. Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 210003, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 368766, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014200/a014227/Gamma_Ray_Burst_Two_Component_Jet_Stream_ProRes_1280x720.mov", "filename": "Gamma_Ray_Burst_Two_Component_Jet_Stream_ProRes_1280x720.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Astronomers think GRB 221009A represents the birth of a new black hole formed within the heart of a collapsing star. As illustrated here, the black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space. Credit: NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 313760, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14227/#media_group_313760", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [NASA.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-swift-fermi-missions-detect-exceptional-cosmic-blast)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "PAO" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Science writer", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Elizabeth Hays", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Brad Cenko", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "KBR Wyle Services, LLC" }, { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] } ], "missions": [ "Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope", "Swift" ], "series": [ "Astrophysics Stills" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Black Hole", "Gamma Ray", "Gamma Ray Burst", "HDTV", "Hyperwall", "Space", "Star", "X-ray" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14634, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14634/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Fermi Finds Novel Feature in BOAT Gamma-Ray Burst", "description": "The brightest gamma-ray burst yet recorded gave scientists a new high-energy feature to study. Learn what NASA’s Fermi mission saw, and what this feature may be telling us about the burst’s light-speed jets. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: “Tides,” Jon Cotton [PRS] and Ben Niblett [PRS], Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Distant_GRB_still.jpg (3840x2160) [2.5 MB] || 14634_Fermi_GRB_Emission_Line_Under100.mp4 (1920x1080) [90.7 MB] || 14634_Fermi_GRB_Emission_Line_Best.mp4 (1920x1080) [422.0 MB] || 14634FermiGRBEmissionLine_Captions.en_US.srt [4.4 KB] || 14634FermiGRBEmissionLine_Captions.en_US.vtt [4.2 KB] || 14634_Fermi_GRB_Emission_Line_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.8 GB] || ", "release_date": "2024-07-25T14:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-07-25T09:28:28.467746-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1095632, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014600/a014634/GRB_JetEmerge_4k_00128_print.jpg", "filename": "GRB_JetEmerge_4k_00128_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A jet of particles moving at nearly light speed emerges from a massive star in this artist’s concept. The star’s core ran out of fuel and collapsed into a black hole. Some of the matter swirling toward the black hole was redirected into dual jets firing in opposite directions. We see a gamma-ray burst when one of these jets happens to point directly at Earth. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image LabImage description: Against a cloudy white and purple background, part of a bright blue-white star is visible at lower left. Emerging from the star and stretching diagonally across the frame is a narrow line, looking white nearest the star and becoming magenta farther away. At far right, the line — one of the dying star’s particle jets — forms a large, rounded blob. The image is watermarked “Artist’s concept.”", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 14317, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14317/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA Missions Probe What May Be a 1-In-10,000-Year Gamma-ray Burst", "description": "The Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of the BOAT GRB and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending to the burst's upper left. This animation flips between images taken on Nov. 8 and Dec. 4, 2022, one and two months after the eruption. Given its brightness, the burst’s afterglow may remain detectable by telescopes for several years. Each picture combines three near-infrared images taken at wavelengths from 1 to 1.5 microns and is 34 arcseconds across. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (Radboud University); Image Processing: Gladys Kober || GRB_WFC3IR1108+1204_circled.gif (512x512) [3.5 MB] || ", "release_date": "2023-03-28T13:50:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T11:43:38.257753-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 842157, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014300/a014317/GRB_all_rings_XMM_2160_searchweb.png", "filename": "GRB_all_rings_XMM_2160_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "XMM-Newton images recorded 20 dust rings, 19 of which are shown here in arbitrary colors. This composite merges observations made two and five days after GRB 221009A erupted. Dark stripes indicate gaps between the detectors. A detailed analysis shows that the widest ring visible here, comparable to the apparent size of a full moon, came from dust clouds located about 1,300 light-years away. The innermost ring arose from dust at a distance of 61,000 light-years on the other side of our galaxy. GRB221009A is only the seventh gamma-ray burst to display X-ray rings, and it triples the number previously seen around one.Credit: ESA/XMM-Newton/M. Rigoselli (INAF)", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 11261, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11261/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA's Fermi, Swift See 'Shockingly Bright' Gamma-ray Burst", "description": "A record-setting blast of gamma rays from a dying star in a distant galaxy has wowed astronomers around the world. The eruption, which is classified as a gamma-ray burst, or GRB, and designated GRB 130427A, produced the highest-energy light ever detected from such an event.The GRB lasted so long that a record number of telescopes on the ground were able to catch it while space-based observations were still ongoing.Just after 3:47 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 27, Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) triggered on an eruption of high-energy light in the constellation Leo. The burst occurred as NASA's Swift satellite was slewing between targets, which delayed its Burst Alert Telescope's detection by less than a minute. Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) recorded one gamma ray with an energy of at least 94 billion electron volts (GeV), or some 35 billion times the energy of visible light, and about three times greater than the LAT's previous record. The GeV emission from the burst lasted for hours, and it remained detectable by the LAT for the better part of a day, setting a new record for the longest gamma-ray emission from a GRB.The burst subsequently was detected in optical, infrared and radio wavelengths by ground-based observatories, based on the rapid accurate position from Swift. Astronomers quickly learned that the GRB was located about 3.6 billion light-years away, which for these events is relatively close.Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most luminous explosions. Astronomers think most occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel and collapse under their own weight. As the core collapses into a black hole, jets of material shoot outward at nearly the speed of light. The jets bore all the way through the collapsing star and continue into space, where they interact with gas previously shed by the star and generate bright afterglows that fade with time. If the GRB is near enough, astronomers usually discover a supernova at the site a week or so after the outburst. This GRB is in the closest 5 percent of bursts, so ground-based observatories are monitoring its location in hopes of finding an underlying supernova. || ", "release_date": "2013-05-03T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:52:11.580337-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 465852, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011261/GRB_LAT_B4_AFTER_2.jpg", "filename": "GRB_LAT_B4_AFTER_2.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "These maps, both centered on the north galactic pole, show how the sky looks at gamma-ray energies above 100 million electron volts (MeV). The first frame shows the sky during a three-hour interval prior to GRB 130427A. The second frame shows a three-hour interval starting 2.5 hours before the burst, and ending 30 minutes into the event. The Fermi team chose this interval to demonstrate how bright the burst was relative to the rest of the gamma-ray sky. This burst was bright enough that Fermi autonomously left its normal surveying mode to give the LAT instrument a better view, so the three-hour exposure following the burst does not cover the whole sky in the usual way. Credit: NASA/DOE/Fermi LAT Collaboration", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "pixels": 1166400 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }