NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has examined what may have been the most powerful explosion since the Big Bang discovering a hitherto unseen feature. The feature could be the result of matter and antimatter particles annihilating at 99.9 per cent the speed of light. The blast was an example of a gamma-ray burst (GRB). When it was first seen on 9 October 2022 by NASA's Fermi and the Neil Gehrels Swift.Observatory, it was designated GRB 221009A. The power of the GRB was soon revealed, and it earned the nickname the 'Brightest Of All Time', or the 'BOAT'.
"As long as we have been able to detect GRBS, there is no question that this GRB is the brightest we have ever witnessed by a factor of ten or more," Wen-fai Fong, an associate professor of physics and astronomy, leader of the Fong Group at Northwestern University and one of the discoverers of the BOAT explained around the time it was deemed so utterly bright.
This story is from the Issue 160 edition of All About Space UK.
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This story is from the Issue 160 edition of All About Space UK.
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