Table of Contents
Which are the two explanations for gamma-ray bursts?
One explanation proposes that they are the result of colliding neutron stars — corpses of massive stars (5 to 10 times the mass of our Sun) that have blown up as supernovae. A second theory proposes that gamma-ray bursts are the result of a merging between a neutron star and a black hole or between two black holes.
How are gamma-ray bursts distributed across the sky?
Gamma ray bursts are distributed homogeneously on the sky. In current models, long bursts are produced through the core-collapse of a massive star to a black hole, and short bursts are thought to occur when two neutron stars merge to form a black hole.
Can a gamma ray burst hit Earth?
GRBs, as they’re called, are powerful events that release huge amounts of gamma rays. These are among the most deadly radiation known. The good news is that Earth being blasted by a GRB is a pretty unlikely event. That’s because these bursts occur so far away that the chances of being harmed by one are quite small.
For what purpose was the spacecraft that first identified gamma ray bursts created?
They were discovered serendipitously in the late 1960s by U.S. military satellites which were on the lookout for Soviet nuclear testing in violation of the atmospheric nuclear test ban treaty. These satellites carried gamma ray detectors since a nuclear explosion produces gamma rays.
How can we detect a black hole?
The gas molecules in the disk swirl around the black hole so fast that they heat up and emit X-rays. These X-rays can be detected from Earth. Black holes can also be detected by watching for motions of stars near the black hole.
What causes a gamma-ray burst?
A few leading theories were developed that addressed the possible causes of gamma-ray bursts. One explanation proposed that they are the result of colliding neutron stars. Neutron stars are the corpses of massive stars (5 to 10 times the mass of our Sun) that have come to the ends of their life cycles.
How many gamma-ray bursts have been spotted around our galaxy?
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission, an unmanned spacecraft launched in 2004 by NASA in a bid to study the gamma-ray burst/black hole connection, has been in orbit for more than a decade and has spotted more than 1,000 GRBs since its inception. Here is an illustration of the GRBs that it has spotted all around our galaxy:
What is the distribution of gamma-ray bursts detected by BATSE?
Positions on the sky of all gamma-ray bursts detected during the BATSE mission. The distribution is isotropic, with no concentration towards the plane of the Milky Way, which runs horizontally through the center of the image.
What is a gamma-ray flash?
At least once a day, the sky lights up with a spectacular flash of gamma-rays coming from deep space (remember: gamma-rays are not in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum so we consequently are not aware of the phenomena). The brightness of this flash of gamma-rays can temporarily overwhelm all other gamma-ray sources in the Universe.