This blast outside Solar System was so powerful Earth's atmosphere vibrated
The burst was so bright that it bounced off the Moon and illuminated Earth's upper atmosphere, surpassing the brightness of a full moon for a fraction of a second.'This might be a once-in-a-lifetime event for astronomers, as well as for the neutron star,' said Dr. David Palmer of Los Alamos National Laboratory, who led a team that analysed the data from NASA's Swift satellite. 'We knew of only two other giant flares in the 35 years before the signal, and the December 2004 event was one hundred times more powerful'. The flare's energy output was staggering: in just over a tenth of a second, the magnetar released more energy than the Sun emits in 1,50,000 years. The gamma rays ionised Earth's upper atmosphere, briefly expanding the ionosphere and demonstrating the direct impact such distant cosmic phenomena can have on our planet.What Are Magnetars?Magnetars are the collapsed cores of massive stars that exploded as supernovae. Though only about 15 miles in diameter, these neutron stars possess magnetic fields trillions of times stronger than Earth's, making them the most magnetic objects known.Occasionally, their magnetic fields 'snap,' releasing bursts of X-rays and gamma rays—sometimes culminating in rare, catastrophic giant flares like the 2004 event.The sheer power of the SGR 1806-20 flare led scientists to ponder whether similar, closer eruptions could have triggered mass extinctions on Earth in the distant past. If such a blast occurred within 10 light-years, it could devastate the ozone layer and threaten life.
International teams continue to analyse data from radio telescopes and satellites. (Photo: Getty)
Moreover, this event prompted astronomers to reconsider the origins of some short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), previously thought to be from distant black hole-forming explosions.The evidence now suggests that some could be from magnetar flares in nearby galaxies, blurring the lines between different types of cosmic explosions.A New Era in High-Energy AstronomyThe 2004 flare, and a similar event detected on April 15, 2020, from a magnetar in a neighbouring galaxy, confirm that these rare eruptions are not confined to our Milky Way. advertisementInternational teams continue to analyse data from radio telescopes and satellites, with a multitude of scientific papers forthcoming.As the universe reveals its most violent secrets, astronomers are reminded that even the most distant stars can leave a mark, sometimes, quite literally, on our own world.- EndsMust Watch
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