[Music throughout]
Looking for a new vacation spot?
[Facetiously] I've heard that gamma-ray bursts are beautiful this time of year.
No...oh, no, no, no, no, I was just..., no
No, they're far too dangerous! With deadly gamma radiation?
[Audible sigh] So you're really going to go?
Then you need to know a few things first.
A gamma-ray burst is a ... giant ... burst ... of ... gamma rays,
the highest-energy form of light
They mostly come from either two neutron stars crashing together ...
... or a massive star collapsing in on itself.
Both likely form black holes that blast out a pair of cones of superfast, superhot material.
These jets emit the gamma rays that give gamma-ray bursts their name.
If you're in the path of that cone — even very, very far away — you see a gamma-ray burst!
Not in the cone?
No gamma-ray burst.
But the show isn't over yet!
As that cone rams into the stuff around it,
there's another display across the whole range of light,
from radio waves to gamma rays
Well, and there's other possible light shows too ...
the supernova from the collapsing star, or a kilonova from the merger ...
but you get the idea, it's a brilliant display.
Now, gamma-ray bursts may be the brightest show in town,
but knowing when and where to look can be tricky.
Over at Earth,
er, also known as Glerbax-29 d ...
depending on where you're from ...
gamma-ray detectors monitor the whole sky to find these unpredictable events.
But if you want to visit one, you'll need to find it BEFORE that blast of gamma rays.
First you need to decide which type you want to see.
The initial burst from the crashing stars lasts just a couple seconds or less,
while the collapsing star can have a burst lasting minutes.
But timing your visit to the collapsing star might be a problem,
unless you're willing to wait,
a long time,
like reallllly long.
We know of quite a few stars that collapse ... "soon,"
but that could mean a day, a year, a million years or more!
Predicting when the stars will crash is a bit easier if you're willing to do a little homework.
Just find a close pair of orbiting neutron stars,
watch them for a few orbits, add some math, and you can predict when they'll crash.
Now, before you run off, make sure you have what you need to keep yourself from
from getting blasted by those gamma rays.
Earth, er, Glerbax-29 d,
has an atmosphere that shields the planet, and its inhabitants, from gamma rays.
And you'll need to be able to detect light in all its forms if you want to see the full show
Of course, all of this doesn't account for the fact that
gamma-ray bursts don't happen nearby —
the closest so far was over 100 million light years away,
and most are billions,
so you'll need to find a galaxy where this is more likely.
But it looks like you've worked all of that out.
So, keep in mind these tips and tricks,
and go enjoy the universe's most spectacular fireworks display.
[Sighs]