Last updated on March 13, 2014 at 17:23 EDT

Gamma-Ray Burst Was Aimed At Earth

September 10, 2008





At the same moment Swift saw the burst, the Russian KONUS instrument on NASA’s Wind satellite also sensed the gamma rays and provided a wide view of their spectral structure. A robotic wide-field optical camera called “Pi of the Sky” in Chile simultaneously captured the burst’s first visible light. The system is operated by institutions from Poland.


Telescopes around the world already were studying the afterglow of another burst when GRB 080319B exploded just 10 degrees away. TORTORA, a robotic wide-field optical camera operated in Chile with Russian-Italian collaboration, also caught the early light. TORTORA’s rapid imaging provided the most detailed look yet at visible light associated with a burst’s initial gamma-ray blast.


Gamma-ray bursts are the universe’s most luminous explosions. Most occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel. As a star’s core collapses, it creates a black hole or neutron star that, through processes not fully understood, drive powerful gas jets outward. These jets punch through the collapsing star. As the jets shoot into space, they strike gas previously shed by the star and heat it. That generates bright afterglows.


“It’s this wide jet that Swift usually sees from other bursts,” Racusin explained. “Maybe every gamma-ray burst contains a narrow jet, too, but astronomers miss them because we don’t see them head-on.”



Image 1: Artist’s rendition of SWIFT. Credit: NASA


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Gamma-Ray Burst Was Aimed At Earth