He flew to us for billions of years from the depths of the Universe
The sensational scientific work was published on Wednesday, June 7 by the scientific journal Science. It is about an event that none of the scientists expected and, perhaps, will not wait for, since the next similar event can only happen in a thousand years. On October 9, 2022, the telescopes of the MASTER global network of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University recorded the most powerful gamma-ray burst in history — GRB 221009A. He was born several billion years ago in the Universe after the collapse of a massive star.
Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful electromagnetic explosions in our Universe. These are rather narrow beams that a dying star emits when turning into a black hole. These black holes can form at the very outskirts of the universe, which is about 14 billion years old.
Among similar long gamma-ray bursts (GRB — Gamma ray burst), GRB 221009A is the brightest flash ever observed . Due to its enormous energy, the 221009A burst is an exceptionally rare event: it «bypassed» all previous GBRs that scientists recorded over 55 years of observations. This power can be imagined by mentally blowing up five Suns in a few tens of seconds.
But at the same time, the October gamma-ray burst also became one of the closest of all observed gamma-ray bursts to which scientists were able to determine the distance. And such events can only occur once in 1000 years!