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Collaboration reveals one of the most distant
objects in universe
Scientists, including a Clemson astrophysicist, have identified
an explosion from one of the most distant objects known to mankind,
perhaps revealing itself as one of the first stars ever formed in
the universe. Their findings appeared in Nature this spring.
Clemson professor and paper co-author, Dieter Hartmann, said the
gamma ray burst occurred on Sept. 4, 2005, when a massive star had
an inner core collapse, resulting in a black hole and a high-energy
flare. The NASA satellite “Swift” recorded an unusually
long-lasting spike. At over three minutes, it was one of the longest-lasting
events ever observed from the ground. The observation allowed astronomers
to determine the explosion took place only one billion years after
the big bang, which is the theory that a cosmic explosion marked
the origin of the universe 14 billion years ago.
“It is amazing that light from such a mind-boggling distance
reaches us with a brightness that allows even small telescopes to
detect it,” said Hartmann.
Gamma ray bursts are extremely bright and are the occasional consequence
of the death of a massive star. Researchers trace the cosmic star
formation history with these explosions. Hartmann points out that
the early universe evolved after the big bang, but remained in a
period known as the dark ages as no stars had yet formed. He said
scientists search for the time when the first generation of stars
formed or when “the light was turned back on.”
Clemson students used the “small” .9m SARA telescope,
located at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz., to
view events like GRB 050904 remotely from the comforts of the Kinard
physics lab on the Clemson University campus.
This is an image of the star field in which the
optical light from the very distant source GRB 050904 appears within
the circle. This image was obtained with the 4.1-m SOAR telescope
on top of Cerro Pachon, Chile.
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