William Atkins
Saturday, 21 February 2009 00:14
Science -
Space
Page 2 of 4
Based on these figures, the speed of the particles within the jets were traveling at an estimated speed of 99.9999% the speed of light.
The NASA article states,
“This burst's tremendous power and speed make it the most extreme recorded to date.”
The results of the scientists were placed online on February 19, 2009 in the journal
Science. The article is entitled “
Fermi Observations of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from GRB 080916C.”
The abstract to their paper states,
“The Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor and Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Observatory together record GRBs over a broad energy range spanning about seven decades of gamma-ray energy."
It adds,
In September 2008, Fermi observed the exceptionally luminous GRB 080916C, with the largest apparent energy release yet measured. The high-energy gamma rays are observed to start later and persist longer than the lower energy photons.”
The NASA media brief “
NASA’s Fermi Telescope sees most extreme gamma-ray blast yet” quoted Peter Michelson from Stanford University (California), who is the principal investigator on the Large Area Telescope, the prime instrument onboard Fermi.
Dr. Michelson, who is also one of the authors of the Science article, stated,
“We were waiting for this one. Burst emissions at these energies are still poorly understood, and Fermi is giving us the tools to understand them."
Page three explains gamma-ray bursts.
