| Flash from the Beginning of Time Reveals Strange Event By Robert Roy Britt Senior Science Writer posted: 08 March 2006 01:00 pm ET |
The most distant explosion ever recorded, signaling the birth of a black hole near the beginning of time, was more chaotic and lasted longer than astronomers would have expected.
The event was first reported last fall. Today scientists released new findings and an animation that depicts a strange sequence of events in which the explosion of a massive star first settles down but then fires back up several times toward the end.
Astronomers speculate that the black hole did not form instantly, as theory predicts, but that it was a prolonged process.
 ANIMATION: Surprising multiple outbursts during black hole formation. |
"This was a massive star that lived fast and died young," said David Burrows, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State and author of one of three papers in the March 9 issue of the journal Nature.
The burst, named GRB 050904, originated 12.8 billion light-years away, which means it occurred 12.8 billion years ago and the light took that long to reach us. It erupted very nearly at the beginning of time—the universe is about 13.7 billion years old.
The event provides the first glimpse of a star when the universe was in its infant stages. Until now, only entire galaxies had been observed so far away.
"Because the burst was brighter than a billion suns, many telescopes could study it even from such a huge distance," Burrows said.
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