Kilonova Discovery Challenges our Understanding of Gamma-Ray Bursts

While studying the aftermath of a long gamma-ray burst (GRB), two independent teams of astronomers using a host of telescopes in space and on Earth, including the Gemini North telescope on Hawai‘i and the Gemini South telescope in Chile, have uncovered the unexpected hallmarks of a kilonova, the colossal explosion triggered by colliding neutron stars. This discovery challenges the prevailing theory that long GRBs exclusively come from supernovae, the end-of-life explosions of massive stars. 

Credit:

Images and Videos:
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, Fermilab, M. Zamani, NASA/ESA, J. da Silva/Spaceengine, CI Lab, N. Bartmann
Music: Written and performed by STAN DART

 

About the Video

Id:noirlab2228a
Release date:Dec. 7, 2022, 9 a.m.
Related releases:noirlab2228
Duration:01 m 22 s
Frame rate:29.97

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