Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics.
Hubble and NASA space telescopes track 'game-changing' gamma-ray burst back to neutron star collision in 'forbidden' region of the universeBlack HolesBreaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.
Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Space.com's Sci-Fi Reader's Club. Read a sci-fi short story every month and join a virtual community of fellow science fiction fans!A cosmic explosion with an energy level equivalent to the output of a billion of suns went unnoticed by astronomers — until they caught the"echo" of this so-called gamma-ray burst, that is. Considering all of our advances in astronomy and the fact that we have space telescopes with the ability to spot objects that existed up to 13.3 billion years ago, it may seem unlikely that some of the most powerful explosions in the cosmos since theto be observed. However, even when missed, these cosmic blasts can be observed via their"echoes" as the impact bounces off surrounding gas and dust, resulting in a gradually fading afterglow. And the detection of the radio signal ASKAP J005512-255834 — thanks to the Australian SKA Pathfinder radio telescope located in Western Australia — represents the most conclusive detection of such an explosive echo to date.Hubble and NASA space telescopes track 'game-changing' gamma-ray burst back to neutron star collision in 'forbidden' region of the universe Astronomers witness colossal supernova explosion create one of the most magnetic stars in the universe for the first time "GRBs are powerful pencil-beam explosions of energy that follow the birth of a black hole due to stellar collapse or compact object mergers," discovery team member Ashna Gulati of the University of Sydney told Space.com."As these jets interact with the surrounding medium, they slow down and become spherical. If a GRB jet is not pointed towards us, the initial jet can go unseen. But later, as that jet ploughs through the surrounding medium, we can see the fading afterglow of the initial unseen explosion — called an 'orphan afterglow.'" These orphan afterglows have been predicted for decades, but have thus far proved elusive due to the fact that there is no bright, high-energy burst of radiation to signal their existence. "This is the most convincing 'orphan afterglow' candidate to date and only the second candidate to be identified." Gulati explained."It is akin to an echo because we didn't capture the initial blast but we did see the blast’s interaction with the environment. The GRB was missed because the initial jet was pointed away from us and because the jets are too narrow, so it could have just missed the detector."The team identified ASKAP J005512-255834 as an orphan afterglow after comparing its luminosity, energy and velocity with known explosive transients including GRBs, supernovas, and tidal disruption events in which black holes rip up and devour stars.Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors What really stood out to the team was the fact that ASKAP J005512-255834 brightened rapidly over a matter of weeks, continuing to emit radio waves for over 1,000 Earth-days as it faded. This sets the explosion apart because radio transients like this usually evolve very quickly or flare more than once. The explosion at hand did neither, instead resembling the echo of a single, very powerful explosion.located around 1.7 light-years away. The galaxy has an irregular structure and is in the midst of intense star formation. The explosive event did not take place within the heart of this galaxy, though, instead taking place in an off-center, dense, star-birthing region of it: likely a star cluster. That indicated to the team that the echo they saw could not be the result of a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole in a TDE. "The origin point of this GRB resides in a chaotic galaxy, so most likely a stellar collapse occurred in a region of high star formation. The transient is not in the center of the galaxy where supermassive black holes reside," Gulati said."Also, a potential star cluster at the transient location does not have the mass it would take to hold a supermassive black hole."Deep underground, a telescope may soon detect ghosts of stars that died before Earth existed There is a possibility that the original explosive event involved a star being ripped apart by an elusive intermediate mass black hole. These are black holes with masses in between that of galaxy-dominating supermassive black holes, with masses equivalent to millions, or even billions, of times that of the sun, and stellar-mass black holes with masses up to hundreds of times that of our star born when massive stars die in supernova explosions. Whatever the cause of this orphan afterglow, this discovery offers astronomers a template that could help discover more of these echoes of high-energy explosions. "We now have a very well-studied object that allows us to check what we are looking for when something like this object shows up again," Gulati concluded. Robert Lea is a science journalist in the U.K. whose articles have been published in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He also writes about science communication for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.Hubble and NASA space telescopes track 'game-changing' gamma-ray burst back to neutron star collision in 'forbidden' region of the universeExoplanetsOhio fireball may have dropped meteorites between Akron and Canton — should you pick it up if you find one?
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