Giant torch sweeping past Mars originated in a powerful neutron star in a galaxy 11.4 million light-years from Earth
- A giant torch was detected by NASA satellites in April as it swept past Mars
- Scientists say it comes from a powerful neutron star 11.4 million light-years away
- This is the highest eruption detected by NASA satellites since 2008
- GRB 200415A christened, it took milliseconds, but updated instruments were able to record enough data to trace a path back to where it came from
A giant torch swept through the solar system in April sent scientists deep into space to discover the origin of the high-energy eruption – and the hunt is finally over.
A group of researchers led by the University of Johannesburg have revealed that the explosion, called GRB 200415A, was released from a magnetar – a neutron star with a strong magnetic field – in a spiral system 11.4 million light-years away .
The elusive visitor passed Mars in the early morning hours of April 15, which was picked up by a number of satellites, including the International Space Station, which fueled the search outside the Milky Way and the distant galaxy NGC 253.
However, the eruption lasted only 140 milliseconds, but due to the advanced orbital instruments, they were able to record more data than from the previous flare-up that was detected 13 years ago.
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A giant torch swung through the solar system in April prompting scientists to explore deep into space to discover the origin of the high-energy eruption – and the hunt is finally over
GRB 200415A was picked up by satellites on April 15 at 04.42 and was the first known giant torch to be detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma ray telescope since 2008.
The recent eruption was also detected by Fermi, along with Swift, Mars Odyssey and Wind mission satellites and the European Space Agency’s INTEGRAL satellite.
Gamma ray bursts (GRB) are the brightest and most energetic events in the universe.
It can only be detected when the beams are aimed directly at the ground.
The elusive visitor flew past Mars in the early morning hours of April 15, which was captured by a number of satellites, including the International Space Station, which fueled the search outside the Milky Way and the distant galaxy NGC 253 (artist impression).
GRB 200415A was picked up by satellites on April 15 at 04:42 and was the first known giant torch to be detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma ray telescope since 2008. The recent eruption was also detected by Fermi, along with Swift, Mars Odyssey and Wind mission satellites
Most of these are billions of light-years away and can last from a few milliseconds to a few hours if observed from Earth.
Scientists have known for some time that supernovae spray long GRBs, which burst for longer than two seconds.
In 2017, a team determined that two neutron stars spiraling into each other could also give a short GRB.
The 2017 eruption comes from a safe 130 million light-years away from Earth.
Researchers initially thought it was a short gamma-ray burst, but after further investigation they determined that it was from a magnetar
Prof Soebur Razzaque of the University of Johannesburg said: “There are tens of thousands of neutron stars in the Milky Way.”
“Of these, only 30 are currently known as magnetares.”
‘Magnetars are up to a thousand times more magnetic than ordinary neutron stars.
‘Most emit X-rays every now and then. But so far we only know a handful of magnets that have produced giant torches. The brightest we could detect was in 2004. ‘
“Then GRB 200415A arrived in 2020.”
If the next giant glow GRB gets closer to our Milky Way, the Milky Way, a powerful radio telescope on the ground like MeerKAT in South Africa could possibly detect it, he says.
‘It will be an excellent opportunity to study the link between very high energy gamma ray emissions and radio waves in the second explosion. And it will tell us more about what works in our model and what does not. ‘