GRB 060218 (and SN 2006aj) was a

gamma-ray burst In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are extremely energetic events occurring in distant Galaxy, galaxies which represent the brightest and most powerful class of explosion in the universe. These extreme Electromagnetic radiation, ele ...

(abbreviated as GRB) with unusual characteristics never seen before. This GRB was detected by the

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIF ...

satellite on February 18, 2006, and its name is derived from the date. It was located in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Aries Aries may refer to: *Aries (astrology), an astrological sign *Aries (constellation), a constellation in the zodiac Arts, entertainment and media * ''Aries'' (album), by Luis Miguel, 1993 * ''Aries'' (EP), by Alice Chater, 2020 * "Aries" (song), ...

. GRB 060218's duration (almost 2000 seconds) and its origin in a galaxy 440 million

light year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...

s away are far longer and closer, respectively, than typical gamma-ray bursts seen before, and the burst was also considerably dimmer than average despite its close distance. As of February 2006, the phenomenon was not yet well understood. However, an optical afterglow to the gamma-ray burst has been detected and is brightening, and some scientists believe that the appearance of a

supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

(SN 2006aj) may be ongoing. Four different groups of researchers, led by Sergio Campana, Elena Pian, Alicia Soderberg and Paolo Mazzali respectively, carried out the investigation of the phenomenon and presented their results in ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' on August 31, 2006. They found the strongest evidence yet that supernovae and GRBs might be linked, because GRB 060218 showed signs of both the GRB and the supernova. The exploding star is believed to have had the boundary mass (about 20

Solar mass The solar mass () is a frequently used unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is approximately equal to the mass of the Sun. It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxie ...

es) for supernovae to leave either a

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

or a

neutron star A neutron star is the gravitationally collapsed Stellar core, core of a massive supergiant star. It results from the supernova explosion of a stellar evolution#Massive star, massive star—combined with gravitational collapse—that compresses ...

after its explosion.

References

External links

Light curves and spectra
on th
Open Supernova Catalog

* http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060223_explosion.html * http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1683_1.asp * http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn8776.html * http://sabbe.fragzone.se/KPO/grb060218.htm
YahooNews

Finder Charts for GRB 060218
shows the area of the sky prior to the incident. * More

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

observational reports at th
Burst Information (Current and Archives)

Simbad

Image SN 2006aj
{{DEFAULTSORT:GRB 060218 060218 Aries (constellation) 20060218 February 2006