8/3/2023 0 Comments Unique gemini wallpaper“Our follow-up observation told us that rather than being a massive star collapsing, the burst was most likely caused by the merger of two compact objects,” Dr. The researchers also found no evidence of a corresponding supernova, which would leave its imprint on the light studied by Gemini South. The observations allowed the astronomers to pinpoint the location of GRB 191019A to a region less than 100 light-years from the nucleus of an ancient galaxy, which placed it very near the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. The astronomers then used Gemini South to make long-term observations of the GRB’s fading afterglow to learn more about its origins. The first hints that such an event had occurred were seen on October 19, 2019, when NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detected a bright flash of gamma rays that lasted for a little more than one minute - GRB 191019A. Evidence for that type of merger, however, has been elusive. Their cores, however, are teeming with stars and a menagerie of ultra-dense stellar remnants, such as white dwarf stars, neutron stars, and black holes.Īstronomers have long suspected that in the turbulent beehive of activity surrounding a supermassive black hole, it would only be a matter of time until two stellar objects collide to produce a GRB. ![]() “This is exciting for understanding how stars die and for answering other questions, such as what unexpected sources might create gravitational waves that we could detect on Earth.”Īncient galaxies are long past their star-forming prime and would have few, if any, remaining giant stars, the principal source of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). “Our new results show that stars can meet their demise in some of the densest regions of the Universe where they can be driven to collide,” said Radboud University astronomer Andrew Levan. ![]() New research, however, points to a long-hypothesized, but never-before-seen, fourth option. If two such stellar remnants form a binary system, they also can eventually collide. More massive stars burn brighter and die sooner in cataclysmic supernova explosions, creating ultradense objects like neutron stars and black holes. Relatively low-mass stars like our Sun slough off their outer layers in old age and eventually fade to become white dwarf stars. Most stars in the Universe die in predictable ways, depending on their mass. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / M. GRB 191019A came from the collision of stars or stellar remnants in the jam-packed environment surrounding a supermassive black hole at the core of an ancient galaxy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |