What Powers Gamma Ray Bursts? Researchers Think They Found the Source
A supercomputer simulation of a mere 10 milliseconds during the collapse of a massive star into a neutron star proves that these catastrophic events, often called Hypernovae, can generate the enormous magnetic fields needed to explode the star and fire off bursts of gamma rays that are visible halfway across the universe. The simulation and visualization of the toroidal magnetic field that is formed from a collapsed massive star, required 130,000 computer cores operating in parallel over a span of two weeks on "Blue Waters" -- one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.
Comments:
According to what I've seen on the History channel, if we get a head-on with a gamma ray burst within a 1000 light years, we're all dead. It would be an extinction event.
<br>Rod:<br><br>Yes -- You are correct.<br><br>Here are two of my postings on the subject:<br><br><br>Wolf-Rayet 104 Has Us Locked in its Gunsights -- Are We in Danger of an Extinction Level GRB? <br><br>Posted 8/16/2014<br><br>http://www.astromart.com/news/news.asp?news_id=1432<br><br><br><br><br>Deadly Nearby Gamma Ray Burst is Highly Unlikely<br><br>Posted 5/5/2006<br><br>http://www.astromart.com/news/news.asp?news_id=506<br><br><br><br><br><blockquote class="blockquote"><div class="italic"><i>Rod Kaufman said:</i><br><br>According to what I've seen on the History channel, if we get a head-on with a gamma ray burst within a 1000 light years, we're all dead. It would be an extinction event.</div></blockquote>
