GRB 150101B is 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 milli ...

(GRB) that was detected on 1 January 2015 at 15:23 UT by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on board the Swift Observatory Satellite, and at 15:23:35 UT by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board the

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST, also FGRST), formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit. Its main instrument is ...

. The GRB was determined to be from Earth near the

host galaxy An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity over at least some portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that the luminosity is not pr ...

2MASX J12320498-1056010 in the constellation

Virgo Virgo may refer to: *Virgo (astrology), the sixth astrological sign of the zodiac * Virgo (constellation), a constellation *Virgo Cluster, a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo *Virgo Stellar Stream, remains of a dwarf galaxy * Virgo Su ...

. The characteristics of GRB 150101B are remarkably similar to the historic event

GW170817 GW 170817 was a gravitational wave (GW) signal observed by the LIGO and Virgo detectors on 17 August 2017, originating from the shell elliptical galaxy . The signal was produced by the last minutes of a binary pair of neutron stars' inspir ...

, a merger of neutron stars.

Observations

In October 2018, astronomers reported that GRB 150101B, 1.7 billion light years away from Earth, may be analogous to the historic

, a

gravitational wave Gravitational waves are waves of the intensity of gravity generated by the accelerated masses of an orbital binary system that propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light. They were first proposed by Oliver Heaviside in 1 ...

detected in 2017, which is about 130 million light years away, and associated with the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

of two

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. white ...

s. The similarities between the two events, in terms of

gamma ray A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...

and

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

emissions, as well as to the nature of the associated host

galaxies A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

, are considered "striking", and this remarkable resemblance suggests the two separate and independent events may both be the result of the merger of neutron stars, and both may be a hitherto-unknown class of kilonova transients. Kilonova events, therefore, may be more diverse and common in the universe than previously understood, according to the researchers. According to one of the study researchers, Eleonora Troja, “It’s a big step to go from one detected object to two. Our discovery tells us that events like GW170817 and GRB 150101B could represent a whole new class of erupting objects that turn on and off in X-rays and might actually be relatively common.” Troja further stated, “We’ve been able oidentify this kilonova without gravitational wave data, so maybe in the future, we’ll even be able to do this without directly observing a gamma-ray burst.” Another researcher, Geoffrey Ryan, said,“We have a case of cosmic look-alikes. They look the same, act the same and come from similar neighborhoods, so the simplest explanation is that they are from the same family of objects.” According to co-author, Alexander Kutyrev, “If the next such observation reveals a merger between a neutron star and a black hole, that would be truly groundbreaking. Our latest observations give us renewed hope that we’ll see such an event before too long.” Another researcher, Hendrik Van Eerten, noted, “We need more cases like GW170817 that combine gravitational wave and electromagnetic data to find an example between a neutron star and black hole. Such a detection would be the first of its kind. Our results are encouraging for finding more mergers and making such a detection."

References

External links

* {{portal bar, Astronomy, Space January 2015 events 20150101 150101B

Observations

See also

References

External links