GRB 080319B

GRB 080319B is the name of a gamma-ray burst (english gamma -ray burst, GRB short ), which was discovered on March 19, 2008 at 06:12:49 UTC clock by NASA's Swift satellite. It was the second of four discovered gamma-ray bursts on the day ( within 24 hours it was even five, it got even GRB 080320 added ).

The gamma-ray burst occurred at a distance of about 7.5 billion light- years (z = 0.937 ) and was in the constellation Bootes about 5 ' from the star γ Bootis ( Seginus ) on the RA J2000.0 - position = 14h 31m 41s / Dec = 36 ° 18 ' 09 " to watch. The optical afterglow ( Afterglow ) of the gamma-ray burst had a maximum apparent magnitude of 5.76 mag and an absolute magnitude of -36 mag and is thus more luminous than any previously observed supernovae and GRB afterglow. It is the most distant object was ever observed with the naked eye.

The reason why this burst of energy must have been to see and not at the same time its closer (cosmic ) has destroyed environments is that these bursts propagate within a pointed conical jets. For GRB 080319B was observed that within this radiation cone was another, even more acute cone, to which concentrated even more energy. In fact, the jet of GRB 080319B has the visible sky only had a diameter of about 0.4 degrees of arc, which is of the order of the visible solar diameter.

Superlatives

Brightest afterglow

Gamma-ray bursts are among the strongest known bursts of energy in the universe. The observed afterglow of the gamma-ray burst was with an absolute magnitude of -36 like more than 2.5 million times brighter than the brightest previously observed supernovae SN 2005ap and SN 2006gy.

Visibility

The vast majority of the energy of a gamma-ray burst is radiated in gamma - rays. If in the explosion resulting Materieauswürfe ( plasma jets) that are emitted with the speed of light and collide with the gas of the nearby there are shock fronts and an afterglow, which is also observable in the visible spectrum. In this GRB afterglow of this was with the 5.8 like for the first time so bright that it could theoretically be seen with the naked eye. The afterglow was measured for 30 seconds in a corresponding strength.

Before 19 March 2008, the Triangulum Galaxy ( M33, the Triangulum Galaxy ) was the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. The removal of the Triangulum galaxy is 2.8 million light years. The gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B is more than 2,500 times farther away from Earth.