GRB 971214 (1SAX J1156.4+6513) is 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 ...
observed in 1997. It originated 12 billion
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. For a brief period this was thought by some researchers to have been the most energetic event observed in the universe, but this was before it was established that gamma-ray bursts are beamed towards the Earth. Thus, at the time of the discovery it was hypothesized by G. Djorgovski and his collaborators that the outburst put out more energy than several hundred typical
supernovae
A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion. The original ob ...
, or the energy our galaxy puts out over a couple of centuries. However, a couple of years later it was realized that this was an
upper limit as it is likely that the burst was directed towards Earth. If the jet had an opening angle of only a few degrees, the burst energy could have been thousands of times lower. The X-ray afterglow and the host galaxy of the GRB have also been observed, using
BeppoSAX
BeppoSAX was an Italian–Dutch satellite for X-ray astronomy which played a crucial role in resolving the origin of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most energetic events known in the universe. It was the first X-ray mission capable of simultaneousl ...
and
Keck II respectively. The host galaxy lies at
redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency and e ...
z=3.4.
Since the beaming phenomenon was not yet established at the time of the discovery, the media responded by giving GRB 971214 the nickname ''Big Bang 2''.
References
External links
Gamma-Ray Burst Found to be Most Energetic Event in Universe(HubbleSite)
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971214
Astronomical objects discovered in 1997