Scientists find explanation for astonishingly bright signal coming from space

Sign as much as our free weekly IndyTech publication delivered straight to your inbox

Sign as much as our free IndyTech publication

Scientists have discovered the supply of the brightest gamma-ray burst ever detected.

The astonishingly bright signal – dubbed the ‘BOAT’, or brightest of all time – was present in October 2022. It was greater than 10 occasions extra highly effective than any such gamma-ray burst or GRB detected earlier than, and is considered a phenomenon that Earth sees solely ever 10,000 years.

Now researchers say they’ve confirmed that it was the results of the collapse after which explosion of a large star. Previously, researchers had been unable to verify the supply as a result of the GRB itself was so bright, however they’ve now been ready to take action utilizing Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope.

The supernova itself, the supply of the blast, was remarkably regular.

“It’s not any brighter than previous supernovae,” stated Peter Blanchard, from Northwestern University, who led the research. “It looks fairly normal in the context of other supernovae associated with less energetic GRBs.

“You might expect that the same collapsing star producing a very energetic and bright GRB would also produce a very energetic and bright supernova. But it turns out that’s not the case. We have this extremely luminous GRB, but a normal supernova.”

But whereas the brand new analysis solves one thriller, it additionally opens up a brand new one.

Scientists had believed that such an explosion would carry proof of heavy parts reminiscent of platinum and gold – however none have been discovered. That implies that the thriller of the place such heavy parts come from is unsolved, and stays one of many largest mysteries of the universe.

The work is described in a brand new paper, ‘JWST detection of a supernova associated with GRB 221009A without an r-process signature’, revealed in Nature Astronomy.