Posted on 08/30/2006 11:46:03 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LONDON (Reuters) - Teams of international scientists have used observations from NASA's Swift satellite and other telescopes to witness the evolution of a cosmic blast into a stellar explosion or supernova.
The blast is thought to be a milder type of gamma-ray burst (GRB) -- the most powerful type of explosion known to astronomers -- called an X-ray flash.
It is known as GRB060218 after the February 18 date it began in the constellation of Aries about 440 million light years away. A light year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year.
"This extends the GRB-supernova connection to X-ray flashes and fainter supernovae, implying a common origin," said Elena Pian of Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics in Trieste and the lead author of one of four research papers about the event in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
It is the second-closest gamma-ray burst ever detected and the first view of a supernova in the act of exploding, according to the astronomers.
Pian and her group confirmed that the explosion was tied to a supernova called SN2006aj a few days after the outburst, which lasted 100 times longer than a typical gamma-ray burst but was much dimmer.
Alicia Soderberg and her colleagues at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena used radio and X-ray wavelengths to calculate that GRB060218 was about 100 times less energetic than ordinary GRBs but similar events are probably more common.
In another report in the journal, Sergio Campana and scientists at the National Institute for Astrophysics observatory in Merate, Italy also said the collapsing star was associated with a supernova.
X-ray flashes appear to signal an explosion that leaves behind a neutron star while gamma-ray bursts are thought to mark the birth of a black hole, a region of space from which nothing can escape.
Scientists led by Paolo Mazzali, of the Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics in Garching, Germany found that the star had a smaller mass than those estimated for the normal GRB-supernova.
"The properties of GRB060218 suggest the existence of a population of events less luminous than classical GRBs, but possibly more numerous," Mazzali said in a statement.
In a commentary in the journal, Timothy Young of the University of North Dakota in the United States said the research has shown that at least some GRBs are warnings of the imminent explosion of massive stars.
"All four papers make clear that the exploding object sent out both a slightly aspherical shockwave, typical of a supernova, and a jet-like stream of material characteristic of a GRB," he said.
The Swift satellite is seen in an undated rendering from NASA. Teams of international scientists have used observations from NASA's Swift satellite and other telescopes to witness the evolution of a cosmic blast into a stellar explosion or supernova. (NASA/Handout/Reuters)
BUSH'S FAULT!.......
;)
UVOT Image of Supernova 2006dm in MCG
UVOT images of NGC1371/SN2005ke.
On the left is an image in the V, B, and U bands and on the right is an image in the UVW1, UVW2, and UVM2 bands. The position of the supernova is indicated by the circle in each image. The red "arc" in the left image is an artifact from a foreground star at the detector edge in the V-band.
It looks like Women and Children will be hit hardest.
I thought I saw something last night....;^)
You're right! Given normal beaurcratic reaction times Two billion years may not be enough.
Bush's fault!!!
A vote for Pelosi can avoid the exlposi!
Yeah right!
440 million years is a long time...when the supernova exploded, the earth was in the early Silurian period of the Paleozoic. The dinosaurs arose, flourished, and disappeared while this light was making its way here.
Should we believe any picture coming out of Al-Reuters?
"Should we believe any picture coming out of Al-Reuters?"
No. There was no supernova. It didn't happen. They faked it. In fact, the stars are actually tiny pinholes in black velvet that is held up over the night sky by a flock of gigantic pelicans.
All this 440 million light years away stuff is just nonsense, promulgated by the filthy evolutionists. The black velvet is only 400 miles above the earth.
The earth, itself, is held up by a giant turtle, and that turtle stands on a turtle that holds up the sun and moon, which are just about 100 miles above the earth. Another turtle supports the two other turtles and holds up the rest of the universe, including that black velvet.
Beyond that, there are innumerable other turtles. In fact, it's turtles all the way down.
Good one...lol!
Most excellent!
"440 million years is a long time...when the supernova exploded, the earth was in the early Silurian period of the Paleozoic. The dinosaurs arose, flourished, and disappeared while this light was making its way here."
There is an assumption built into that statement that that the speed of light (c = 299,792,458 m/s) was constant for last the 440 million years.... if the speed of light was slower in the past this number could be more...if the speed of light was faster in the past this number could be less....
There has been some intesting work on this subject the last few years.... first peer reviewed published by Setterfeild in 1987....
Setterfield and Norman SRI in July 1987
Dr. Joao Magueijo, a physicist at Imperial College London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C3%A3o_Magueijo
Dr. John Barrow of Cambridge
Dr. Andy Albrecht of the University of California at Davis Dr. John Moffat of the University of Toronto
have all published work advocating their belief that light speed was much higher – as much as 10 to the 10th power faster in the past...
Variable speed of light theory:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_speed_of_light
http://www.setterfield.org
Our Principal Investigator had us had us review data in the 2/18/2006 time period but cautioned us to keep things under our hats until the event could be verified by other instruments.
This is very cool!
From the very link you posted. This is silliness.
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