The most powerful gamma-ray burst ever to disturb Earth's atmosphere

The gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A lasted only 7 minutes but disturbed the Earth's ionosphere for several hours.

GRB 221009A could have been born from a supernova explosion or the formation of a black hole. Photo: NASA

"GRB 221009A, the most energetic GRB ever recorded by humanity, profoundly impacted the ionosphere for the first time," Newsweek quoted Mirko Piersanti, a space weather researcher at Italy's University of L'Aquila, as saying on October 14. "Its photon flux peaked at 6 million particles per second (the previous record was 500,000 photons per second), which could have ionized the entire ionosphere, creating a violent electric current that could be observed by measuring the electric field in low Earth orbit."

The gamma-ray burst, known as GRB 221009A, caused massive fluctuations in the electric field of Earth's ionosphere at an altitude of about 498 km, according to research published in the journal Nature Communications. The GRB appeared on October 9, 2022, in the constellation Sagitta and lasted about 7 minutes. It originated 2 billion years ago, possibly from a massive star undergoing a supernova explosion or the formation of a black hole. After traveling billions of light-years, this GRB was still powerful enough to cause strange fluctuations in Earth's ionosphere, the layer of the atmosphere at altitudes of 60-306 km that is filled with charged ions. According to Piersanti, it disturbed the lower ionosphere (at altitudes of 80-120 km) for several hours. In fact, like previous high-energy GRBs, it disrupted long-wave radio communications on Earth.

Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful bursts of energy in the universe, erupting from the most violent explosions, such as neutron star collisions. These intense pulses of light often come in two opposing beams, like the beams of a lighthouse.

According to the European Space Agency, some theories speculate that GRBs could wipe out all life in the home galaxy, vaporizing everything within 200 light years of the beam. However, researchers still do not know the true impact of GRBs. According to Piersanti, in the worst case, gamma-ray bursts could not only affect the ionosphere but also destroy the ozone layer, allowing ultraviolet radiation from the Sun to reach the Earth's surface. This could be the cause of some of the mass extinctions that have occurred on Earth in the past.

An Khang (According to Newsweek )

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