The light emitted by the gamma ray creates an “expanded ring” effect – Photo: NASA
Scientists have discovered GRA 221009A gamma ray burst in October 2022, about 2.4 billion light years away from Earth, according to a newly published study.
The light from the explosion emits energy up to 18 teraelectronvolts. It is the brightest space explosion ever recorded.
The explosion was so powerful that it caused major changes in the electric field of the Earth’s ionosphere at an altitude of about 500 km.
“In this study, we present evidence of changes in the ionospheric electric field at about 500 km caused by the strong gamma-ray burst that occurred on October 9, 2022,” said the research team led by physicist Mirko, astrophysicist at the university. Piersanti said. of the National Institute of Astrophysics in L’Aquila and Italy.
“Using both satellite observations and a newly developed special analytical model, we demonstrate that GRA 221009A had a profound effect on Earth’s ionospheric conductivity, causing strong perturbations that could not be detected only in the lower ionosphere, but also in the upper Even in the ionosphere”.
The gamma-ray burst causes light echoes, which are produced by light passing through a thick layer of dust as it approaches Earth, creating an “expanded ring” effect.
Gamma radiation is the highest energy part of the electromagnetic spectrum, followed by X radiation. Gamma ray photons have 1 billion to 1,000 billion times more energy than photons in the visible part of the spectrum.
The research has just been published in the journal Nature communication.
The ionosphere is a relatively thick layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, reaching heights of about 50 – 1,000 km and overlapping many other atmospheric layers.
This is the part of the atmosphere where ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the Sun ionizes atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, creating a chain of loose electrons.
The ionosphere reflects the radio waves that we use for communication and navigation. When a powerful event occurs, such as a solar flare, we can record the changes in the lower ionosphere.
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