"We really hit the jackpot," said Swift principal investigator Neil Gehrels at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "We've been waiting a long time for this one," agreed Grigory Beskin of Russia's Special Astrophysical Observatory. The plethora of data on GRB 080319B collected around the world has now been combined to produce the best picture yet of the incredibly violent stellar event. It has also revealed that Earth was within range of a very narrow, ultra-fast central beam of the jet that shot out of the star, not even a half of a degree across. "It's unbelievable opening angle of 0.4 degrees," said Hartmann of the inner jet which hit Earth. "It allows us to look right at it." Rarely are these jets so well-aimed at Earth, and it's only the vast distance of their origins that keeps them from wreaking havoc on Earth's climate. "If it happened in our galaxy we would actually be in considerable trouble," said Swift team leader David Burrows of Pennsylvania State University. It could cause chemical changes in our atmosphere that could result in rapid global winters and mass extinction events, he said. The event also allows for new measurements of elements in intergalactic space between Earth and the blast, Hartmann explained, something few objects are bright enough to do. Gamma ray bursts are the brightest eruptions in the universe, believed to be caused by very massive stars running out of fuel and imploding. Exactly how the jets of nearly light-speed particles are created is still somewhat of a mystery. But it is clear these jets slam into material already shed by the star and light it up, creating an afterglow that can last for months. Related Links: |
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