It took about 4 billion years for the light emitted by the gamma-ray burst, which is thought to illuminate the entire universe, to reach our world. A black hole and this burst of light that spread throughout the universe remained from a star that collapsed into itself in the depths of space and died.
Radiation reaching the Earth is said to be safely absorbed by the atmosphere.
Much bigger than the Sun Researchers say they reached the findings of the gamma-ray burst earlier this year through telescopes in space, in an article they published in the journal Science.
If the explosion had occurred closer to the earth, its impact on our planet is predicted to be catastrophic.
The dying star is thought to be about 20-30 times larger than the Sun.
Astronomers say the explosion itself occurred in under a minute, but was large enough to scatter radiation across the entire universe.
British astronomer Professor Paul O'Brien, about the explosion detected by NASA's telescopes called Swift and Fermi in space, said, “This type of event can occur in any galaxy at any time. We don't have a chance to know beforehand." says.
Stellar death every 500 million years is defined as the formation of a black hole by a star that collapses into itself when its fuel runs out, and at the same time emitting an extraordinary energy called gamma-ray burst.
The outward expansion of what was left of the star during the explosion triggers another event known as a supernova. It is estimated that for a gamma-ray burst to damage the earth's ozone layer it would have to be within 1000 light-years.
Professor Paul O'Brien, who believes that this type of explosion occurs every 500 million years, said, “Our planet must have been exposed to the radiation of a dying star throughout its history. Will repeat in the future. But it is very unlikely that it will happen in our lifetime.” says.
Source :haber7
📩 25/11/2013 13:14
Be the first to comment