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On the other side of space, 5.5 billion light-years away, several telescopes have been able to capture a brief gamma-ray burst. Scientists believe it is a residue tremendously loud explosion, which is associated with the collision of neutron stars, writes the Science Alert portal.
The collision was first revealed in 2017 and astronomers named it GW 170817. It was an amazing discovery because scientists were able to get a great deal of information on the course of similar collisions, but that too how to look for them in the universe. However, the Hubble telescope managed to discover a new gamma-ray burst that does not fit any of the neutron star collision patterns. It was ten times clearer.
“If we take into account everything we know about radio or X-ray observations, these latest results are not relevant. They were too clear,” says Northwestern University astronomer Wen-fai Fong.
Neutron stars
The collision of neutron stars is an exceptional matter. These stars are small and incredibly dense. They may weigh 2.5 times more than the Sun, but all of this matter is pressed up to a diameter of 20 km. When they collide, a huge explosion occurs, a thousand times larger than a normal supernova. This explosion is accompanied by gamma rays.
What happened to the stars after the collision remains a mystery. Some believe that the two stars have merged and they created a black hole. Others argue that a magnetar formed after the collision. Magnetars are types of stars that have an unimaginably strong magnetic field. Magnetars are also extremely rare stars. So far, only 24 magnetars have been discovered in our galaxy.
At the moment, however, it is too early to draw conclusions. Scientists say new monitoring methods can help them better understand the explosions that occur after neutron star collisions. At the same time, they claim that studying these explosions will give them a better idea what can happen after the collision.
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