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Dissecting a stellar explosion   This artist's impression illustrates how a gamma-ray burst can flare dramatically over a short time period (gamma ray bursts usually last between a hundredth of a second to a hundred seconds). The bursts can occur as often as several times a day. There is no way to predict when or where they will next occur.
ESA missions such as XMM-Newton, Integral and Ulysses study these mysterious, powerful bursts.  This artist's impression shows the centre of a dying star collapsing minutes before the star implodes. The blast from a Gamma Ray Burst is thought to be produced by a jet of fast-moving gas that bursts from near the central engine; probably a black hole created by such a collapse of the massive star.  This is an artist’s impression of ESA’s orbiting gamma-ray observatory, Integral. Release date: 16 June 2009 |