Search results for gamma ray bursts

Astronomy Apr 1, 2024

Exploding stars are rare but emit torrents of radiation—one close enough to Earth could threaten life on the planet

Stars like the sun are remarkably constant. They vary in brightness by only 0.1% over years and decades, thanks to the fusion of hydrogen into helium that powers them. This process will keep the sun shining steadily for about ...

Astronomy Mar 27, 2024

'Cosmic cannibals' expel jets into space at 40% speed of light

For the first time, astronomers have measured the speed of fast-moving jets in space, crucial to star formation and the distribution of elements needed for life.

Astronomy Mar 22, 2024

NASA's tiny BurstCube mission launches to study cosmic blasts

NASA's BurstCube, a shoebox-sized satellite designed to study the universe's most powerful explosions, is on its way to the International Space Station.

Astronomy Feb 26, 2024

Further study of bright gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A shows it was caused by neutron stars merging

An international team of astronomers and astrophysicists has found evidence that the bright gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A observed last year was caused by two neutron stars merging, not from a collapsing massive star. In their ...

Astronomy Feb 14, 2024

NASA telescopes find new clues about mysterious deep space signals

What's causing mysterious bursts of radio waves from deep space? Astronomers may be a step closer to providing one answer to that question. Two NASA X-ray telescopes recently observed one of such events—known as a fast ...

Astronomy Feb 13, 2024

Vera Rubin's keen eye on our solar system will inspire future missions

When the interstellar object (ISO) 'Oumuamua appeared in our solar system in 2017, it generated a ton of interest. The urge to learn more about it was fierce, but unfortunately, there was no way to really do so. It came and ...

Astronomy Feb 9, 2024

Chinese astronomers find radio pulsar in a supernova remnant

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), astronomers from the Nanjing University in China and elsewhere, have detected a radio pulsar in a supernova remnant known as CTB 87. The finding is reported ...

Astronomy Feb 7, 2024

Gamma-ray bursts: Harvesting knowledge from the universe's most powerful explosions

The most powerful events in the known universe—gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)—are short-lived outbursts of the highest-energy light. They can erupt with a quintillion (a 10 followed by 18 zeros) times the luminosity of our sun. ...

Space Exploration Feb 6, 2024

What's made in a thunderstorm and faster than lightning? Gamma rays

A flash of lightning. A roll of thunder. These are normal stormy sights and sounds. But sometimes, up above the clouds, stranger things happen. Our Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has spotted bursts of gamma rays—some of ...

Astronomy Feb 5, 2024

How dangerous are kilonovae?

When we look up at the sky on a particularly dark night, there is a sense of timelessness. We might see the flash of a meteor, and occasionally a comet is visible to the naked eye, but the cold and distant stars are unchanging. ...

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