GRB 990510 sky region

The object of study is the remnant of a mysterious cosmic explosion far out in space, first detected as a gigantic outburst of gamma rays on May 10. Gamma-Ray Bursters (GRBs) are brief flashes of very energetic radiation — they represent by far the most powerful type of explosion known in the Universe and their afterglow in optical light can be 10 million times brighter than the brightest supernovae. The May 10 event ranks among the brightest one hundred of the over 2500 GRB''s detected in the last decade. To the left is a reproduction of a short (30 sec) centering exposure in the V-band (green-yellow light), obtained with VLT ANTU and the multi-mode FORS1 instrument on May 11, 1999, at 03:48 UT under mediocre observing conditions (image quality 1.0 arcsec).The optical image of the afterglow of GRB 990510 is easily seen in the box, by comparison with an exposure of the same sky field before the explosion, made with the ESO Schmidt Telescope in 1986 (right).The exposure time was 120 min on IIIa-F emulsion behind a R(ed) filter. The field shown measures about 6.2 x 6.2 arcmin 2. North is up and East is left.

Credit:

ESO

Over de afbeelding

Id:eso9926c
Type:Observatie
Publicatiedatum:18 mei 1999
Gerelateerde berichten:eso9926
Grootte:2732 x 1332 px

Over het object

Naam:GRB 990510
Type:Early Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Gamma Ray Burst
Afstand:z=1.619 (roodverschuiving)
Categorie:Stars

Image Formats

Grote JPEG
1,6 MB

Wallpapers

1024x768
362,2 KB
1280x1024
606,4 KB
1600x1200
886,8 KB
1920x1200
1,0 MB
2048x1536
1,3 MB

Kleuren & filters

BandTelescoop
Optisch
V
Very Large Telescope
FORS1
Optisch
R
ESO 1-metre Schmidt telescope

Noten: Right image obtained by the 1-metre Schmidt telescope, the left was taken using the VLT.