Most Distant Gamma Ray Burst Detected |
|
Written by spacetravel.org
|
|
Sunday, 18 September 2005 19:49 |
|
Astronomers have found that the gamma ray burst recorded by NASAs Swift satellite on September 4, 2005 is the most distant one ever detected.
The gamma ray burst, known as GRB 050904, is about 12.8 billion light-years from Earth, 500 million light-years further away than the most distant gamma ray burst previously discovered.
Scientists believe that most gamma ray bursts occur when a massive, rotating star collapses and becomes a black hole. A gamma ray burst can last from less than a second to a few minutes, and can be 10 billion to 100 billion times as bright as an entire galaxy.
|