GRB 060218 (and SN 2006aj) was a

gamma-ray burst In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten millise ...

(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 * SWIFT, ...

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

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. GRB 060218's duration (almost 2000 seconds) and its origin in a galaxy 440 million light years 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 (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, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

'' 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 masses) for supernovae to leave either a black hole or a

neutron star A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. w ...

after its explosion.

References

External links

Light curves and spectra
on th
Open Supernova Catalog
* http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=19106 * 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 US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

observational reports at th
Burst Information (Current and Archives)

Simbad

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