Gamma Ray Bursters. Lastest News
Posted by DA Morgan on May 29, 2003 at 11:40
(216.162.218.178)A NASA satellite may have uncovered one of the most important clues yet obtained on the mechanism for producing gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. This was the result of a chance observation by a satellite designed to study the Sun.
The Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) satellite was snapping pictures of solar flares on December 6, 2002, when it caught an extremely bright gamma-ray burst in the background, over the edge of the Sun, revealing for the first time that the gamma rays in such a burst are polarized. The result indicates intense magnetic fields may be the driving force behind these awesome explosions.