Researchers have discovered a massive explosion around 130 million light-years away from Earth. Previously, scientists discovered a gigantic collision here caused by a well-known fusion of two neutron stars, which are collapsed stars that are among the highest density things in the universe, and this was confirmed by further observations. However, the impact of that tremendous incident, which generated a powerful stream of energy, started to diminish. Approximately three and a half years afterward, something else, something completely different, caused yet another strange burst or burst of energy in the vicinity.
The outburst of energy, which was detected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory that identifies emissions from very hot regions in the cosmos), was incredibly powerful and long in duration. As an analogy, astronomers have compared it to the sound produced when a fast-moving aircraft breaches the sound barrier.
The two scenarios
- A “kilonova glow” is a phenomenon that has never been recorded before, according to new study released in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Astronomers offer two probable scenarios that may explain the occurrence, though neither was ever recorded before. A kilonova is a very brilliant explosion caused by the collision of two neutron stars, according to the prevailing hypothesis. Kilonovas have the potential to be very important to the cosmos and our lives: Astronomers believe that key elements and metals, such as gold and platinum, are formed during these explosions. It is one of the hypothesized dominating places for the heavier elements in the cosmos. However, scientists believe that following this massive kilonova burst, debris stretched out into space, resulting in a blast wave or burst. The explosion heated everything in its path, including gases and stardust.
- An alternative explanation is that the cataclysmic neutron star merger formed a black hole — an entity with such tremendous gravitational attraction that nothing, can exit from it — and that stuff from the crash is currently falling into this black hole. When material falls into the void, it swirls around the strong, black object, releasing a slew of energy in the process.
