October 2022 is a date that Astronomy has marked on the calendar of history. According to scientists, on that day a flash of gamma rays appeared out of nowhere that crossed the universe and reached Earth. They compared it to a scream from the universe, with the difference that the intensity of this cosmic radiation was still visible weeks later. They named it GBR 221009A, but soon changed it to BOAT, Brightest Of All Time. It has been calculated that this cosmic explosion took place in the early universe, 1.9 billion years ago.
Thanks to studies from Northwestern University along with data from the James Webb Space Telescope, it has been determined that the flash was the result of the collapse of a massive star that ended up becoming a supernova. Another characteristic that caught the attention of space science was the shape of the jet. According to observations made with NASA’s NuSTAR telescope, it could be described as “a cone of light.” The most repeated explanation relates to the characteristics of the star, such as its density, rotation, or magnetic field.
BOAT: Brightest Of All Time
October 9, 2022 is a date that astronomical scientists remember well. It was the day they were able to witness one of the most fascinating and unique cosmic events to date. The brightness caused the sensors of Earth’s satellites to freeze, and it is now, two years later, that conclusions are being drawn about what happened. According to scientists, it was a gamma-ray burst that traversed the entire universe and reached Earth.
Was the space crying?
Scientists compared the intensity of the radiation to a scream. Unlike other events, the ‘echoes’ of this scream remained visible weeks later. It was named GRB 221009A, but it was renamed to BOAT, Brightest Of All Time. Aside from its characteristic brightness, it was noteworthy that it is an explosion from 1.9 billion years ago, meaning it belongs to the time of the early universe’s creation.
Studies conducted by Northwestern University and the James Webb telescope have determined that BOAT was the result of the collapse of a massive star, which ended up being a supernova. But that’s not all. The surprises continued when they were finally able to observe the supernova; it is a normal one, without unusual characteristics, but it generated the largest GRB ever recorded.
GRB ‘Cone of Light’ Reveals New Behavior
As the investigation of this cosmic explosion continued, more peculiarities were discovered. In this case, it was about the shape of the light jet. It was nothing similar to anything seen up to that moment, which is why the scientists studied it in depth. They used NASA’s NuSTAR telescope, with which they were able to observe the clear shape of the radiation.
They described it as “a cone of light,” with a focused core and more open sides. Depending on the distance from the center, the energy varied. The closer one got, the faster it was. This behavior pattern had never been seen in a GRB before, although that does not mean that they all function in the same way.
Peter Blanchard, the scientist in charge of the study, explained, “We did not observe any signatures of these heavy elements, which suggests that extremely energetic GRBs like BOAT do not produce these elements. This does not mean that all GRBs do not produce them, but it is crucial information as we continue to understand the origin of these heavy elements”.
What do scientists think?
Scientists have chosen to explain the phenomenon by pointing to the most distinctive characteristics of the star, such as its rotation, density, or magnetic field. According to studies, these were factors that influenced the way the jet of radiation emerged from the explosion. They explain it as if it were a sculpture of the collapse, which was shaping the jet of radiation.
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