GRB 221009A

[Rick]

GRB 221009A

Gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A likely signals the birth of a new black hole, formed at the core of a collapsing star long ago in the distant universe.

APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221015.html

[Rick]

NASA's Swift, Fermi Missions Detect Exceptional Cosmic Blast

Astronomers around the world are captivated by an unusually bright and long-lasting pulse of high-energy radiation that swept over Earth Sunday, Oct. 9. The emission came from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful class of explosions in the universe – that ranks among the most luminous events known.

More: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-swift-fermi-missions-detect-exceptional-cosmic-blast

[Rick]

The first I heard of this event was when Mark Edwards posted to the BAA Radio Astronomy Group mailing list about an unusual SID (Sudden Ionosperic Disturbance) he'd noticed on his VLF (Very Low Frequency) radio monitoring system. It was very deep, and did not match up with any observed solar activity, but timed very close (within the precision of his monitoring system) to the time of the GRB. Others have reported similar results.

The short story is that at about 13:17 last Sunday we all got a brief dose of gamma radiation. Luckily at least some of it was soaked up by the ionosphere...

[Rick]

X-Ray Rings Around a Gamma Ray Burst

Why would x-ray rings appear around a gamma-ray burst? The surprising answer has little to do with the explosion itself but rather with light reflected off areas of dust-laden gas in our own Milky Way Galaxy.

APOD: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221017.html

[AndrewRamsay]

Like an X-ray rainbow?

[Rick]

Brightest Gamma-ray Burst Yet Lit Up The Sky

A recently detected gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A was so intense that it temporarily blinded instruments and disturbed Earth's atmosphere.

An unprecedentedly bright gamma-ray burst (GRB) lit up the gamma-ray sky on October 9th. The burst, cataloged as GRB 221009A, exploded in a galaxy about 2 billion light-years away — close for a GRB. Its brightness and proximity spurred astronomers worldwide to monitor the event from both ground and space.

More: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/brightest-gamma-ray-burst-yet-lit-up-the-sky/

[Rick]

It's the BOAT: Astronomers observe "brightest of all time" gamma-ray burst

On the morning of October 9, multiple space-based detectors picked up a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) passing through our solar system, sending astronomers around the world scrambling to train their telescopes on that part of the sky to collect vital data on the event and its afterglow. Dubbed GRB 221009A, astronomers say the gamma-ray burst is the most powerful yet recorded and likely could be the "birth cry" of a new black hole. The event was promptly published in the Astronomer's Telegram, and observations are still ongoing.

More: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/10/its-the-boat-astronomers-observe-brightest-of-all-time-gamma-ray-burst/

[Rick]

Powerful Gamma-Ray Burst Made Currents Flow in the Earth

Astronomers have never seen anything quite like it. On Oct. 9, 2022, Earth-orbiting satellites detected the strongest gamma-ray burst (GRB) in modern history: GRB221009A. How strong was it? It caused electrical currents to flow through the surface of our planet. Dr. Andrew Klekociuk in Tasmania recorded the effect using an Earth Probe Antenna

More: https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2022/10/17/powerful-gamma-ray-burst-made-currents-flow-in-the-earth/

[Rick]

A Significant Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance Associated with Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 221009A

We report the detection of a significant sudden ionospheric disturbance in the D-region of Earth's ionosphere (∼60–100 km), which was associated with the massive γ-ray burst GRB 221009A that occurred on 2022 October 9. We identified the disturbance over northern Europe—a result of the increased ionization by X- and γ-ray emission from the GRB-using very low frequency radio waves as a probe of the D-region. These observations demonstrate that an extra-galactic GRB (z ∼ 0.151) can have a significant impact on the terrestrial atmosphere and illustrates that the Earth's ionosphere can be used as a giant X- and γ-ray detector. Indeed, these observations may provide an insight into the impacts of GRBs on the ionospheres of planets in our solar system and beyond.

More: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ac9d2f