Gamma Ray Bursts

Which is the strongest and brightest explosion detected in the universe?

Answer: Gamma Ray Bursts.

Enrich your Learning:

About Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs):

• They are short-lived bursts of gamma-ray light, and the strongest and brightest explosions in the universe, thought to be generated during the formation of black holes.
• They produce as much energy as the sun will emit during its 10-billion-year existence, though they last a few seconds.
• The phenomena was first seen in 1967 by a U.S. Air Force satellite- Vela.
• Compton Gamma Ray Observatory with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) discovered roughly one new gamma-ray burst per day.
• Such outbursts are so strong that they produce ripples in the space-time called gravitational waves.

Types of GRBs:

• Long-duration burst: It last for 2 seconds to several minutes, an average of about 30 seconds and associated with the deaths of massive stars in ultrapowerful supernovas (hypernovas).
  • Every supernova does not produce a gamma-ray burst.
• Short duration burst: It lasts for less than 2 seconds and associated with merger of two neutron stars into a new black hole or a neutron star with a black hole to form a larger black hole.