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Credit & Copyright: NASA's
Conceptual Imaging
Lab
Explanation:
Both gravitational and electromagnetic radiations have been detected in
rapid succession for an explosive merging event for the first time.
Data from the outburst fit well with a spectacular binary neutron-star
death-spiral.
The explosive episode was seen on August 17 in nearby
NGC 4993, an
elliptical galaxy only 130 million
light
years distant.
Gravitational waves were
seen first by the ground based
LIGO and
Virgo observatories,
while seconds later the Earth-orbiting
Fermi observatory detected gamma-rays, and hours after that
Hubble
and other observatories detected light throughout the electromagnetic
spectrum.
Pictured is an
animated illustrative movie
of the event's likely progenitors.
The video depicts hot
neutron stars as they
spiral in toward each other and emit
gravitational radiation.
As they merge, a powerful jet extends that drives the
short-duration gamma-ray burst, followed by clouds of ejecta and,
over time, an optical supernova-type episode called a
kilonova.
This first coincident detection confirms that LIGO events can be
associated with
short-duration gamma-ray bursts.
Such powerful neutron star mergers are thought to have
seeded the universe with
many heavy nuclei including the
iodine
needed for life
and the uranium and plutonium needed for
nuclear fission power.
You may already own
a souvenir of one of these explosions -- they are also thought to be the
original creators of
gold.
Note: This APOD may be updated with links to published journal
articles as they appear.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: neutron star - gamma-ray burst - gravitational radiation
Publications with words: neutron star - gamma-ray burst - gravitational radiation
See also:
- Simulation: Two Black Holes Merge
- APOD: 2023 June 29 Á A Message from the Gravitational Universe
- Ninety Gravitational Wave Spectrograms and Counting
- GW200115: Simulation of a Black Hole Merging with a Neutron Star
- When Black Holes Collide
- Fifty Gravitational Wave Events Illustrated
- GW190521: Unexpected Black Holes Collide