![]() Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center GRB 221009A was so luminous it effectively blinded most gamma-ray instruments in space when it was detected Oct. ![]() The most energetic kind of explosion in the universe, a gamma-ray burst can be spotted billions of light-years away. It’s also possible that an entirely different mechanism launches the very brightest jets into space. It’s possible that the source of these distinctions is the progenitor star, the physical properties of which could influence the characteristics of the burst. In a study published June 7, in the journal Science Advances, scientists used NuSTAR observations of the event to show how the collapsing star ejected a jet of material that had a shape not previously observed among gamma-ray burst jets, as well as other unique characteristics. While scientists don’t yet understand why, they’ve received a tantalizing clue from NASA’s NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array) observatory. Follow-up studies showed that GRB 221009A was 70 times brighter and far more energetic than the previous record holder. These events regularly release as much energy in a few minutes as our Sun will release in its entire lifetime. Most gamma-ray bursts occur when the core of a star more massive than our Sun collapses, becoming a black hole. 9, 2022, they dubbed it the brightest of all time, or BOAT. ![]() When scientists detected the gamma-ray burst known as GRB 221009A on Oct. Observations by NASA’s NuSTAR X-ray telescope give astronomers new clues about the brightest and most energetic gamma-ray burst ever detected.
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