Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Intergalactic Explosion Shocks Astronomers

Astronomers have discovered a cosmic explosion that seems to have come from the middle of nowhere -- thousands of light-years from the nearest galaxy-sized collection of stars, gas, and dust. This "shot in the dark" is surprising because the type of explosion, a long-duration gamma-ray burst, is thought to be powered by the death of a massive star.

Complete article

(hummmmm so it was an explosion big enough to indicate a supermassive star but there never was any star there.... I hear the trekkies now.... the antimatter containment field collapsed in one of the nacelles of a FTL cruiser. hey, works for me!)

in the photo A recent galaxy collision produced the long tail in the Tadpole Galaxy. If GRB 070125 exploded in a similar tail, only Hubble could detect the tail. (Credit: Credit: NASA)

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