NASA recently reported a bright and long-lasting pulse of high-energy radiation that crossed Earth on October 9. The source of this radiation was a gamma-ray burst (GRB), one of the most energetic explosions in the universe. Detected by Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and Wind spacecraft, the event was named GRB 221009A and marked the start of NASA’s Fermi Symposium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Judy Racusin, a Fermi deputy project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, described the event as a significant start to the conference. The signal originated from the constellation Sagitta and traveled an estimated 1.9 billion years to reach Earth. Astronomers believe it signals the birth of a new black hole, formed from a massive star collapsing under its own weight and emitting powerful jets of particles near the speed of light.

NASA stated that another GRB as bright as this may not occur for decades. Roberta Pillera, a Fermi LAT Collaboration member and doctoral student at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy, highlighted the significance of the burst’s proximity in providing detailed observations. Preliminary analysis shows that Fermi’s Large Area Telescope detected the burst for over 10 hours.