A gamma-ray burst, one of the brightest ever detected, lit up the sky on October 9, 2022.
A gamma ray burst is a super energetic explosion and this one originated in the constellation Sagitta. The burst signal, called GRB 221009A, was picked up by many ESA observatories. Some noticed a sudden increase in their detection of high-energy emissions, others were pointed to the source soon after. The event took place about 1.9 billion years ago and probably indicates the birth of a black hole.
The EPHIN energetic particle detector on the SOHO spacecraft and the Nonstellar Object Counter on the Sky Mapper instrument on the Gaia spacecraft picked up a signal at the same time around 13:20 UTC (15:20 CEST) on October 9, 2022. Gaia The engineers were at first puzzled by this anomalous signal, but soon discovered that they had measured GRB 221009A. Graphics of the Gaia and SOHO event are shown at the bottom of the image. The vertical shows the count of high-energy particles/non-stellar objects over time. A clear peak shows the sudden detection of a high count.
The upper left image was taken by the IBIS/ISGRI instrument aboard the Integral spacecraft. It shows the location of the bursts in the sky as a source of powerful gamma rays. This long exposure image was taken a day after the explosion and shows the site still active. Several other Integral instruments also noticed the initial burst, for example the SPI/ACS instrument measured gamma rays from the same burst.
After the discovery, XMM-Newton was pointed towards the sky location. The result is a gorgeous image (top right) of the explosion’s echo that shows X-rays scattering our galaxy’s interstellar dust into wonderful rings. Click here to access the standalone XMM-Newton image.
The ESA-led Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo missions also noticed the burst. Solar Orbiter detected X-rays from the burst with its STIX instrument. Their EPD instrument detected energetic particles that were created after the high-energy emission interacted with the spacecraft itself. BepiColombo measured gamma rays; data is being analyzed.
The outburst provided an unexpected occasion where different ESA missions came together to study the same astronomical event.
ESA designs and operates a world-class science program together with its Member States, with a long-term vision of leadership in many fields of space science. ESA Science is a world leader, especially in the physics of the hot and energetic Universe, such as black holes and their environment. It is not the first time that several of ESA’s missions have observed the same event independently, but it is unusual for an event in the distant Universe to be detected across the fleet, including missions designed to explore the Solar System rather than the deep Universe.