It’s the brightest explosion ever seen in the universe, but until now it’s been a mystery that couldn't be explained. Telescopes observed an enormous blast in October which was regarded as the biggest of all time. It was identified as a gamma-ray burst, named GRB 221009A, which came as a result of a massive star collapsing into a black hole. At the time it was a mystery as to why the explosion shone so brightly. Now, further research published in the journal Science Advances has uncovered the reason it was so bright is due to the fact it was facing directly at us and also pulled stellar material along with it. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Hendrik Van Earthen from the University of Bath said: “The slow fade of the afterglow is not characteristic of a narrow jet of gas, and knowing this made us suspect there was an additional reason for the intensity of the explosion, and our mathematical models have borne this out. “Our work clearly shows that the GRB had a unique structure, with observations gradually revealing a narrow jet embedded within a wider gas outflow where an isolated jet would normally be expected.” The research into GRB 221009A has the potential to further the study of huge gamma-ray bursts, which can produce as much energy as the Sun will in its entire lifetime in the space of just a few seconds. “GRB 221009A represents a massive step forward in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts, and demonstrates that the most extreme explosions do not obey the standard physics assumed for garden variety gamma-ray bursts,” Brendan O’Connor, GW graduate student and lead study author, said. “GRB 221009A might be the equivalent Rosetta stone of long GRBs, forcing us to revise our standard theories of how relativistic outflows are formed in collapsing massive stars.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Elon Musk has been slammed by the Israeli government after offering to send SpaceX’s Starlink to Gaza. The tech mogul said over the weekend that he would send Starlink to “internationally recognised aid organizations” in Gaza after a telephone and internet blackout in the city. He added that it was not clear who has authority for ground links in Gaza, but “no terminal has requested a connection in that area”. Responding to Musk’s post on X, Israel’s communication minister Shlomo Karhi hit out at the tech mogul, claiming that Hamas militants would use Stralink technology for “terrorist activities” and vowing that Israel will fight the move. “Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight this,” Mr Karhi wrote. “HAMAS will use it for terrorist activities. Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters, elderly people. All of them! By then, my office will cut any ties with starlink.” Mr Musk has insisted that SpaceX will take “extraordinary measures” to ensure the technology is only used for humanitarian reasons. It is unclear what those measures are. “Moreover, we will do a security check with both the US and Israeli governments before turning on even a single terminal,” he added on X. It comes after telecommunications were cut in Gaza over the weekend, leaving millions of residents without power or means of contact as Israel widened its air and ground assault. International humanitarian organisations said the blackout, which began late on Friday, was worsening an already desperate situation by impeding life-saving operations and preventing contact with their staff on the ground. Following the blackout, Palestinians appealed to Mr Musk to send Starlink satellites to Gaza. “Gaza is under bombardment, the internet and telecommunications have been cut off. They need Starlink immediately,” Anastasia Maria Loupis, a doctor, wrote on X. It comes after Mr Musk was widely praised for providing Ukraine with Starlink following Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Starlink satellites were reported to have been critical to maintaining internet connectivity in some areas despite attempted Russian jamming. But since then, Mr Musk has come under scrutiny after declining to extend coverage over Russian-occupied Crimea, refusing to allow his satellites to be used for Ukrainian attacks on Russian forces there. Mr Musk allegedly feared doing so would trigger a nuclear response from Moscow. Since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October in which 1,400 people died, Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, leading to the deaths of more than 8,000 Palestinians. Read More Suella Braverman hits out at pro-Palestinian ‘hate marches’ Suella Braverman attacks pro-Palestine protests as ‘hate marches’ Chant ‘from the river to the sea’ deeply offensive to many, says Downing Street Oil prices could reach 'uncharted waters' if the Israel-Hamas war escalates, the World Bank says Live updates | Israel deepens military assault in the northern Gaza Strip Israel expands ground assault into Gaza as fears rise over airstrikes near crowded hospitals

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