In late 2022, one of the most powerful bursts in the universe occurred.
The source was a gamma ray burst (GRB221009A) so exceptional that it immediately earned the nickname ‘BOAT’ – ‘Brightest Of All Time’.
A number of probes have observed the GRB, including the Italian satellite AGILE (AstrorivelatoreGamma ad Immagini LEggero), developed by OHB Italia (as Prime Contractor) for ASI-Agenzia Spaziale Italiana with the collaboration of INAF, INFN, Contraves, Laben and Telespazio. If we think that the satellite was placed in low equatorial orbit in 2007 and originally was designed for two years lifetime, that’s something incredible! After 16 years AGILE exceeded all expectations and it is still successfully operating in space.
With a total mass of only 350kg, AGILE is a highly innovative satellite, combining detectors ranging from X-band to Gamma band. AGILE’s payload is the most compact instrument in high-energy astrophysics and has a flight data processing system that enables the fastest alertgamma system in the world.
AGILE instruments are operating at different wavelengths and provide a spectral overview of high-energy events.
The GRB221009A appeared so brilliant that its residual radiation, the so-called afterglow, is still visible and will remain so for a long time.
Initially it was thought that its source might be in our galaxy, the Milky Way, but further data collected, it was found out that source could be identified in a galaxy about 2 billion light-years away from our Planet. This is a considerable distance from the Milky Way but relatively close when considering the immense cosmic scales.
And what’s next? the signal would have been generated by the debut on the cosmic stage of a new black hole: formed in the heart of a massive star collapsing under its own weight.
It represents the most intense GRB and the brightest ever seen from Earth during 55 years since the first gamma-ray satellites were launched. It is also one of the closest and the longest (more than 2 seconds) ever observed. Moreover the scientists declared that the frequency of this event normal way every 10,000 years.
On Earth, GRB 221009A also had its effects, releasing in the few minutes about a gigawatt of power into the upper portion of our atmosphere, strongly ionizing the upper ionosphere over a large geographical region centered on India.
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