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22nd November 2013, 09:44
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25041335
The monstrous blast from the dying star was spotted by Nasa's Swift and Fermi space-based telescopes.
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At some point in the Earth's history, we probably were irradiated by a gamma-ray burst, and it will happen again at some point in the future”
Professor Paul O'Brien
University of Leicester
The explosion would have lasted for less than a minute, but hurled radiation across the cosmos.
"The star was previously living quite happily, fusing material in its core. And then it ran out of fuel," explained Prof O'Brien, who is part of the Swift team.
The core of the star would have collapsed into a black hole, while liberating a powerful jet of energy - the gamma-ray burst.
A blast wave would have also caused the rest of the star to expand outwards, creating another dazzling event called a supernova.
"We can see the decaying light - the remnants of both events - for weeks or months afterwards," said Prof O'Brien.
Although the event was closer to Earth than most gamma-ray bursts that have been detected, the radiation would have posed no danger.
Once it reached our planet, the energy would have been absorbed by our atmosphere.
The monstrous blast from the dying star was spotted by Nasa's Swift and Fermi space-based telescopes.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
At some point in the Earth's history, we probably were irradiated by a gamma-ray burst, and it will happen again at some point in the future”
Professor Paul O'Brien
University of Leicester
The explosion would have lasted for less than a minute, but hurled radiation across the cosmos.
"The star was previously living quite happily, fusing material in its core. And then it ran out of fuel," explained Prof O'Brien, who is part of the Swift team.
The core of the star would have collapsed into a black hole, while liberating a powerful jet of energy - the gamma-ray burst.
A blast wave would have also caused the rest of the star to expand outwards, creating another dazzling event called a supernova.
"We can see the decaying light - the remnants of both events - for weeks or months afterwards," said Prof O'Brien.
Although the event was closer to Earth than most gamma-ray bursts that have been detected, the radiation would have posed no danger.
Once it reached our planet, the energy would have been absorbed by our atmosphere.