Astronomers see gamma-ray burst shot toward Earth halfway across Universe

William Atkins
Thursday, 11 September 2008 19:17

Science - Space

The international astronomy community "hit the jackpot" on March 19, 2008, as its astronomers observed GRB 080319B, a gamma-ray burst whose explosive jet shot material in the direction of Earth at an estimated speed of 99.99995% the speed of light. The event was the furthest in distance ever seen by a naked eye on Earth.


GRB 080319B, a gamma-ray burst (GRB), was first detected at 06:12:49 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), or 2:12:49 a.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) on March 19, 2008, by NASA’s Swift satellite, formally known as the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission (Swift).

The Swift team reported on the discovery of GRB 080319B, along with bursts GRB 081319-A, -C, and -D, within emails circulated among its astronomers.

GRB 080319B is located in the constellation Bootes ("Bear Driver" or "Herdsman"), and is approximately 7.5 billion light-years away from Earth.

The astronomers report that GRB 080319B now holds the record as the farthest object ever seen with the naked eye (without using binoculars, telescopes, or other artificaly made devices) by a person on Earth.

They report that at its maximum brightness (according to the astronomical brightness scale) the gamma-ray burst had an apparent magnitude of 5.3 and remained visible (to the unaided eye) for about thirty seconds.

The Swift astronomers state that the event provided scientists from around the world with the “most detailed portrait of a burst ever recorded.”

Just how bright was the GRB 080319B event? Please read on.