(ORDO NEWS) — The signal, which astronomers call “the birth cry of a new black hole,” came from the heart of a massive star collapsing under its own weight.
The Swift X-ray telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected.
The bright rings are formed by the scattering of X-rays from otherwise unobservable layers of dust within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the explosion. Photo: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)
An incredibly bright and long pulse of high-energy radiation swept over the Earth on Sunday, October 9th.
The radiation came from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful class of explosions in the world – and forced many astronomers to turn to their telescopes, according to the NASA website.
The explosion, named GRB 221009A, came from the constellation Sagittarius. It took about 1.9 billion years to reach Earth. Scientists have nicknamed it “the birth cry of a new black hole” that formed in the heart of a collapsing star.
According to scientists, the nascent black hole sets in motion powerful jets of particles that move at speeds close to the speed of light. These jets pierce the star and, emitting X-rays and gamma rays, rush into space.
According to preliminary analysis, the duration of the observed event exceeded 10 hours. The splash has already been recognized as the brightest and most energetic ever seen before.
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