Cosmic explosion captured by UAE astronomers to help unlock secrets of star life cycles

Researchers made two hours of observations that were shared with Nasa

An artist's impression of a gamma-ray burst from a collapsing star. Image: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron research centre

UAE astronomers are unravelling the mysteries of how stars evolve and eventually die by observing the aftermath of huge cosmic explosions.

Researchers at Al Khatim Astronomical Observatory, in the remote Abu Dhabi desert, captured the afterglow of an explosion that took place six billion light-years away on Monday.

First detected by Nasa’s Swift and Fermi space telescopes, this energetic phenomenon, called a gamma-ray burst, is expected to provide vital insights into the life cycle of stars. It was labelled GRB 240825A by Nasa.

The study was led by Dr Nidhal Guessoum, professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah and director of the International Astronomy Centre Mohammad Shawkat Odeh.

“Collecting as much [varied] data as possible on the radiation produced by GRBs is essential to modelling and understanding the nature and physical properties and behaviour of these objects and events,” Dr Guessoum told The National.

“This is a collective effort, and Al Khatim being located in a region with very few observatories helps complete the worldwide data collection.”

Powerful explosion

Gamma-ray bursts are the most energetic explosions in the universe and typically signify the death of massive stars.

When these stars collapse, they release an intense burst of gamma rays, which can be detected across vast distances.

Dr Guessoum's team detected an explosion that probably resulted from the explosion of a star with a mass more than 20 times that of the Sun.

Capturing the death of such an enormous star is expected to help researchers understand the extreme processes involved in these catastrophic events.

“This GRB, while located more than six billion light-years away, was both bright, which means very powerful, and fast fading,” said Dr Guessoum.

“We were fortunate to have early night-time when the alert came from the Nasa satellites [Swift and Fermi], and we were quick to respond.”

After two hours of observation, visible light was captured, allowing the brightness to be measured, and the results were sent to Nasa immediately.

The prompt response of the observatory was crucial in capturing the explosion's afterglow, which is the visible light emitted following the initial gamma-ray burst.

These afterglows provide important information about the explosion itself and the environment in which it occurred.

Valuable data

The astronomers, along with Dr Guessoum's students, will spend the next few weeks analysing the data gathered from the observation.

“We will be modelling this GRB’s behaviour, and trying to learn new insights about such astounding cosmic explosions,” said Dr Guessoum.

The light from this explosion has now faded and is no longer visible to large optical telescopes around the world, except for radio telescopes that researchers can use to follow up the gamma-ray burst.

Dr Guessoum said his team will now attempt to capture other explosions to determine how similar or different they are from this recent one.

Researchers often chase the afterglow of explosions to help solve the puzzle of how stars eventually die.

One of the brightest gamma-ray bursts recorded was in 2013, labelled GRB 130427A, which took place about 3.6 billion light-years away.

The afterglow was so intense that it was visible even to amateur astronomers.

Data collected from that event provided rare insights into the life cycles of these massive explosions, helping to refine models of star collapse.

Studying energetic bursts also helps scientists understand the different types of radiation emitted during these cosmic events.

It provides insights into the effects radiation has on the space environment, which is crucial for future space exploration and technology development.