Gamma Ray Bursts

Besides the Big Bang itself, gamma ray bursts are the most energetic events in the universe. Astronomers knew of a few mechanisms that can produce them, but now an oddball gamma ray burst hints at a brand new origin – a stellar “demolition derby.”

Astronomers have captured the biggest cosmic explosion ever detected. About 100 times bigger than the solar system and two trillion times brighter than the Sun at its peak, the mysterious miasma has remained visible for three years.

The universe is full of bizarre objects, and now astronomers have discovered a doozy – superheavy neutron stars that existed for only fractions of a second, before they collapsed into black holes.

Tree rings can preserve a snapshot of the Earth throughout the tree's life. Now Australian scientists analyzing these records have found evidence of huge radiation storms that periodically bathe the planet – and their origin remains a mystery.

Gamma ray bursts are the most energetic explosions since the Big Bang – and now astronomers have detected the most powerful one yet. A beam of high-energy radiation up to 18 times more powerful than the previous record swept over Earth last weekend.

Astronomers have detected the highest-energy light ever seen. Hundreds of gamma rays were detected with ultra-high energies, with the most powerful signals crossing the Peta-electronvolt threshold – much higher than thought possible in our galaxy.

Antimatter is thought to have been mostly banished from our universe. But could it still be lurking out there? Astronomers have now identified signals from possible antimatter stars, and calculated how many of them might be hiding in our own galaxy.

A short burst of gamma rays 5.47 billion light years from Earth caused by the collision of two neutron stars that put out more energy in a half-second than the Sun could in 10 billion years has revealed the truth about luminous infrared kilonova.

Astronomers investigating gamma ray emissions have discovered that certain active galaxies are giving off bursts in regular patterns. This, the team says, could be an indication of galaxies harboring two supermassive black holes in their centers.

The universe is full of explosions, and now astronomers have described a brand new class of space signals. Named fast blue optical transients (FBOTs), these events are very bright and throw off incredible amounts of energy in a short amount of time.

Gamma-ray bursts are already the most energetic events we know of in the universe. Now, astronomers have detected the most powerful one ever. The competition isn’t even close, either – it's almost a thousand times more powerful than your average GRB.