Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2015

51 SPACE CHRONICLES provide good evidence for an unexpected relation between GRBs, very bright supernovae and mag- netars. Some of these connections were already sus- pected on theoretical grounds for some years, but linking everything together is an exciting new de- velopment." “The case of SN 2011kl/GRB 111209A forces us to consider an alternative to the collapsar scenario. This finding brings us much closer to a new and clearer picture of the workings of GRBs," concludes Jochen Greiner. T his artist’s impression shows a supernova and associated gamma- ray burst driven by a rapidly spinning neutron star with a very strong magnetic field — an exotic object known as a magnetar. Obser- vations from ESO’s La Silla and Paranal Observatories in Chile have for the first time demonstrated a link between a very long-lasting burst of gamma rays and an unusually bright supernova explosion. The results show that the supernova following the burst GRB 111209A was not driven by radioactive decay, as expected, but was instead powered by the decaying super-strong magnetic fields around a magnetar. [ESO] n