Gamma-Ray Bursts
Gamma Ray Bursts are powerful space explosions that release huge amounts of gamma rays
They usually come from the collapse of a dying star that forms a black hole
Matter falling into the black hole powers particle jets. GRBs are detected when the jets hit Earth
Examples of GRBs
- Recently, an extremely bright GRB was identified - BOAT (Brightest Of All Time)
- This was detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
- The recorded peak energy was 12 MeV
- Electron-positron annihilation is the likely cause of the BOAT GRB