A huge flare of extremely energetic radiation has just been detected.
The event was so bright that it was initially confused for another event. It was thought to be a short flash of X-rays from a distant source. Astronomers discovered the true nature of the glow through further analysis and have renamed it GRB221009A.
It was only 2.4 billion light-years away, but it was still close. This burst appears to be the most energetic ever detected at up to 18 Teraelectronvolts.
It poses no danger to life on Earth because it is 20 times closer than the average burst.
It is an event that could shed new light on these fascinating explosions. Although it appears brighter in our sky, GRB221009A is the most bright gamma-ray burst we have ever seen.
An astronomer and Transient event specialist at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Australia tells Science Alert that this is a very exciting event.
The radio, optical, X-ray and gamma-ray light it produces is very bright and easy to observe, because it is so close. We can study this GRB with lots of telescopes around the world and collect a lot of data as it fades away.
On 2022-10-10 I observed the optical afterglow of the extremely bright GRB 221009A = Swift J1913.1+1946 remotely using telescope of Burke-Gaffney Observatory @smubgobs.Image: stacked 12x300 sec., Ic filter.
More information: https://t.co/sjocA0PCOo@Astroguyz @El_Universo_Hoy pic.twitter.com/mSCKWZzkuI
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