The record-breaking gamma-ray burst detected in October 2022 is now defined as a once-in-a-thousand-year event. It’s called GRB 221009A, and the burst of light contains energy of up to 18 teraelectronvolts, making it the most powerful gamma-ray burst in history.

We’ve been waiting to learn more about this incredible explosion, and now the results of the analysis are starting to arrive on the arXiv preprint server and three papers have been submitted. Astrophysical Journal Letters.

According to the analysis, this exceptional burst of light breaks the rules: The light curve of its final flare doesn’t quite match the theoretical explanations for how this should happen, suggesting that there’s something interesting and unique about the GRB 221009A.

In summary, gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the universe, bursting with fire and rage, so powerful that they release more energy than the Sun has in 10 billion years. EMF explosions are caused by catastrophic events: supernova or hypernova explosions that massive stars experience at the end of their lives, or collisions between pairs involving at least one neutron star.

GRB 221009A was first detected on October 9, 2022, and was initially thought to be a faint burst of X-rays from a relatively nearby source. However, further observations revealed that the burst of light traveled a much longer distance than first thought – 2.4 billion light-years (making it one of the closest gamma-ray bursts ever detected) – meaning it was also much more powerful. more than originally thought