Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2021

52 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 ASTRO PUBLISHING Astronomers uncover briefest supernova-powered gamma-ray burst by NOIRLab - Amanda Kocz associated with supernova explo- sions caused by the implosions of massive stars. However, the recent discovery of the shortest-ever GRB produced during a supernova shows that GRBs don’t fit neatly into the boxes astronomers have created for them. among the brightest and most en- ergetic events in the Universe, but scientists are still figuring out ex- actly what causes these fleeting events. Astronomers divide GRBs into two broad categories based on their duration. Short GRBs blaze into life in less than two seconds and are thought to be caused by the merging of binary neutron stars. Those that last longer are clas- sified as long GRBs, and have been A stronomers have discovered the shortest-ever gamma- ray burst (GRB) caused by the implosion of a massive star. Using the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, astronomers identified the cause of this 0.6-second flurry of gamma rays as a supernova ex- plosion in a distant galaxy. GRBs caused by supernovae are usu- ally more than twice as long, which suggests that some short GRBs might actually be imposters — supernova-produced GRBs in dis- guise. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are