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GRB 010222:
Gamma-ray Bursts May Originate in Star-Forming Regions
This Chandra image of the afterglow of a gamma-ray
burst, known as GRB010222, provides evidence that these
massive explosions take place where stars are born.
Several theories exist about what causes gamma-ray
bursts including various combinations of merging
neutron stars and black holes, or, from the explosion
of massive stars, called hypernovae. Using NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Italian Space
Agency's BeppoSAX satellite, Luigi Piro of the
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) in Rome,
Italy, found X-ray evidence that supports the hypernova
model.
The data obtained by Piro and his team with Chandra's
Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer suggest that the
blast waves from gamma-ray bursts can hit a wall of
very dense gas. According to the researchers, this
barrier may be the crowded region where stars form. The
hypernova theory of gamma-ray bursts suggest that the
massive star required for a gamma-ray burst explosion
evolves extremely rapidly – only over the course
of about one million years -- within dense star-forming
regions. Thus, the hypernova explosion may occur in the
same stellar environment that originally produced the
massive star itself, and perhaps may trigger even more
star formation.
| Fast Facts for GRB 010222: |
| Credit |
NASA/CNR/L.Piro et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 5 x 4 arcmin. |
| Category |
Miscellaneous Objects |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 14h 52m 12.0s | Dec +43° 0' 06.00" |
| Constellation |
Boötes |
| Observation Dates |
February 22 -23, 2000
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| Obs. IDs |
2424
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| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Release Date |
April 04, 2001 |
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