Bright gamma ray burst might mean space is more transparent than we thought


GRB221009A surrounded by dust rings, pictured by the XMM-Newton X-ray space observatory

ESA/XMM-Newton/M. Rigoselli (INAF)

The unexpectedly powerful light from the brightest space explosion ever seen may mean that space is more transparent than we thought.

Last year, astronomers witnessed a flash of gamma rays that was brighter than anything they had previously measured. By comparing it with other gamma ray bursts, researchers estimated that such a bright event would happen only once every 10,000 years.

This flash, called GRB221009A, was made of up of photons, or light particles, some of which had …



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