--- title: "Scientists Find Hidden Signal in Epic Cosmic Explosion" description: "The signal could help explain why an explosion called a gamma ray burst appeared to be the most powerful ever detected." date: "2024-08-03" modified: "2024-08-03" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hidden-signal-cosmic-explosion" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "gamma ray burst" - "stars" - "supernova" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Find Hidden Signal in Epic Cosmic Explosion ![The signal could help explain why an explosion called a gamma ray burst appeared to be the most powerful ever detected.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Gamma Quadrant The gamma ray burst [nicknamed the BOAT](), or brightest of all time, was so powerful — and [the data it yielded so overwhelming]() — that it still has scientists' heads spinning in its afterglow nearly two years later. And now, in a [study published in the journal *Science*](), a team of researchers say they've found something in the explosion that we've never seen before, which could help explain why the gamma ray burst appeared to be so powerful. "A few minutes after the BOAT erupted, Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor recorded an unusual energy peak that caught our attention," said study lead author Maria Edvige Ravasio at Radboud University in the Netherlands, in a [NASA release](). "When I first saw that signal, it gave me goosebumps. Our analysis since then shows it to be the first high-confidence emission line ever seen in 50 years of studying GRBs." ## Jet Set The BOAT was detected in October of 2022, the apparent result of a massive star going supernova and collapsing into a black hole. At the time, this released so much energy that it [practically blinded]() NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. But now, the researchers say they've found a hidden peak of energy in the GRB's initial burst. It appeared about five minutes in, lasted around 40 seconds, and in that short period reached an astonishing energy peak of around 12 million electron volts. Visible light, for reference, only ranges between two to three electron volts. What helped power this emission is just as incredible. According to the researcher's findings, it's overwhelmingly likely that it was produced by the annihilation of matter and [antimatter](). As the star's core collapsed into a black hole, its outer material was blown out into space, along with powerful jets, or particle streams, that shot in opposite directions. Inside one of these jets, they believe**,** an electron and an antimatter electron, or positron, collided, releasing enormous amounts of energy — around half a million electron volts, explained study coauthor Gor Oganesyan at Gran Sasso Science Institute in Italy. ## Blinding Lights That raw power was amplified even further because the jet was traveling straight at us, which increased the frequency of the gamma rays. "Because we're looking into the jet, where matter is moving at near light speed, this emission becomes greatly blueshifted and pushed toward much higher energies," explained Oganeysan. In other words, the BOAT wasn't *quite* as powerful as it appeared. Don't let that underwhelm you, though, because the gamma ray burst is still absolutely spectacular. And because we got such a good view of it, it'll continue to yield plenty more insights in the future. "After decades of studying these incredible cosmic explosions, we still don't understand the details of how these jets work," Elizabeth Hays, Fermi project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in the release. "Finding clues like this remarkable emission line will help scientists investigate this extreme environment more deeply." **More on space:** *[Scientists Analyzing Deep Space "Forest" to Map Dark Matter]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()