GRB 090423
Encyclopedia
GRB 090423 is a gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
on April 23, 2009 at 07:55:19 UTC. The afterglow of GRB 090423 was detected in the infrared, and allowed astronomer
s to determine that the redshift of GRB 090423 is z = 8.2, which makes GRB 090423 the second most distant object detected as of October 2010.
A gamma-ray burst is an extremely luminous
event flash of gamma ray
s that occurs as the result of an explosion, and is thought to be associated with the formation of a black hole
. The burst itself typically only lasts for a few seconds, but gamma-ray bursts frequently produce an "afterglow" at longer wavelength
s that can be observed for many hours or even days after the burst. Measurements at these wavelengths, which include X-ray
, ultraviolet
, optical, infrared
, and radio
, allow follow up study of the event.
The finite speed of light
means that, at the time of discovery, GRB 090423 was also the earliest object ever detected. The universe was only 630 million years old when the light from GRB 090423 was emitted, and its detection confirms that massive stars were born and dying
even very early on in the life of the universe. GRB 090423 and similar events provide a unique means of studying the early universe, as few other objects of that era are bright enough to be seen with today's telescope
s.
satellite detected a burst that lasted 10 seconds and was located in the direction of the constellation Leo
.
Swift localized the field in which GRB 090423 occurred, and 77 seconds after the burst, the Swift UVOT Photometric System
took a 150 second exposure of the field, but was unable to detect an optical or ultraviolet afterglow. A few minutes after its discovery, ground based telescopes began observing the field. Within 20 minutes of the burst, Nial Tanvir
and his team found an infrared source at the Swift position using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
on Mauna Kea
, Hawaii
. They observed a drop off in flux beyond 1.13 micrometre
s with the VLT
. Attributing this drop off to Lyman alpha
absorption by neutral hydrogen
in the intergalactic medium, they calculated a redshift of 8.2 for GRB 090423. The team of C.C. Thöne and Paolo D'Avanzo observed the afterglow of GRB 090423 using the Italian TNG
3.6m telescope located in the Canary Islands
, Spain
. They obtained two hours of spectra
, which when combined, suggested a very weak signal at the position of the afterglow. They too saw a drop off in flux near 1.1 micrometres, and reported a redshift of 8.1 for GRB 090423, which is consistent, within error, of the redshift reported by Tanvir et al.
The intergovernmental astronomy organisation, European Southern Observatory (ESO)
also detected the faint GRB using ESO’s Very Large Telescope
. They confirmed the same redshift data collected and approximated the event to have taken place 13 billion years ago. The GRB was not visible in Chile
when Swift first detected the burst at 07:55 UTC, but was the following day at 03:00 UTC, which allowed the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector (GROND)
at La Silla Observatory
to make observations of the burst, and find a redshift consistent with the value reported elsewhere. The last observers to gather data during the event was the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA)
observatory. The observation of GRB 090423 by CARMA was taken at a frequency of 92.5 GHz. While the afterglow was not detected, they were able to place a 3-sigma upper limit of 0.7 mJy
on the flux density
of the afterglow.
, as the light from the burst took approximately 13 billion years to reach Earth
. It has since been surpassed by the discovery of UDFy-38135539
, with a redshift of 8.6, however it is still the most distant GRB. The burst occurred when the universe was approximately one twentieth of its present age. Prior to the observations done on GRB 090423, the previous record holder for age and distance for GRBs was GRB 080913
, which was observed in September 2008. That burst had a redshift of 6.7, placing it approximately 190 million light-years closer to Earth than GRB 090423. Derek Fox, who led the observations done by Pennsylvania State University
, suggests that the GRB was most likely the result of the explosion of a massive star
and its demise, which would probably have signalled the birth of a black hole
. The event occurred roughly 630 million years after the Big Bang
, confirming that massive stellar births (and deaths) did indeed occur in the very early Universe
.
Joshua Bloom of the University of California, Berkeley
, who was able to observe the afterglow at the Gemini South telescope in Chile, called the discovery of GRB 090423 a "watershed event" as it marked "the beginning of the study of the universe as it was before most of the structure that we know about today came into being." Nial Tanvir, who was part of the VLT team, suggests that gamma-ray bursts provide a unique tool to study the universe at early times because everything else is too faint to be observed. For instance, the first generation of stars have yet to be directly observed, but the progenitor of GRB 090423 may belong to this class. These early stars are expected to contribute to the reionisation of the universe, a process which ended at a redshift of about 6. As more powerful telescopes begin operation, such as the James Webb Space Telescope
that is set to launch in 2018, astronomer
s hope to pinpoint the locations of faint GRB host galaxies by using blasts similar to that of GRB 090423.
Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission consists of a robotic spacecraft called Swift, which was launched into orbit on 20 November 2004, 17:16:00 UTC on a Delta II 7320-10C expendable launch vehicle. Swift is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and was developed by an international...
on April 23, 2009 at 07:55:19 UTC. The afterglow of GRB 090423 was detected in the infrared, and allowed astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
s to determine that the redshift of GRB 090423 is z = 8.2, which makes GRB 090423 the second most distant object detected as of October 2010.
A gamma-ray burst is an extremely luminous
Luminosity
Luminosity is a measurement of brightness.-In photometry and color imaging:In photometry, luminosity is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to luminance, which is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. The SI unit for luminance is candela per square metre.The luminosity function...
event flash of gamma ray
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
s that occurs as the result of an explosion, and is thought to be associated with the formation of a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
. The burst itself typically only lasts for a few seconds, but gamma-ray bursts frequently produce an "afterglow" at longer wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
s that can be observed for many hours or even days after the burst. Measurements at these wavelengths, which include X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
, ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
, optical, infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
, and radio
Radio Wave
Radio Wave may refer to:*Radio frequency*Radio Wave 96.5, a radio station in Blackpool, UK...
, allow follow up study of the event.
The finite speed of light
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
means that, at the time of discovery, GRB 090423 was also the earliest object ever detected. The universe was only 630 million years old when the light from GRB 090423 was emitted, and its detection confirms that massive stars were born and dying
Stellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years to trillions of years .Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single...
even very early on in the life of the universe. GRB 090423 and similar events provide a unique means of studying the early universe, as few other objects of that era are bright enough to be seen with today's telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
s.
Discovery and observation
On April 23, 2009 at 07:55:19 UTC the SwiftSwift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission consists of a robotic spacecraft called Swift, which was launched into orbit on 20 November 2004, 17:16:00 UTC on a Delta II 7320-10C expendable launch vehicle. Swift is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and was developed by an international...
satellite detected a burst that lasted 10 seconds and was located in the direction of the constellation Leo
Leo (constellation)
Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for lion. Its symbol is . Leo lies between dim Cancer to the west and Virgo to the east.-Stars:...
.
Swift localized the field in which GRB 090423 occurred, and 77 seconds after the burst, the Swift UVOT Photometric System
The Swift UVOT Photometric System
In astronomical photometry, the Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope on the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission observes astronomical objects in its 17-by-17 arc minute field of view through one of several filters or grisms. The seven filters, which are similar to those on the XMM-Newton-OM instrument,...
took a 150 second exposure of the field, but was unable to detect an optical or ultraviolet afterglow. A few minutes after its discovery, ground based telescopes began observing the field. Within 20 minutes of the burst, Nial Tanvir
Nial Tanvir
Professor Nial Tanvir of the University of Leicester is a professional astronomer and has been at the fore-front of astronomy for over a decade. Perhaps most significant is his research in and around Gamma ray bursts...
and his team found an infrared source at the Swift position using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
UKIRT, the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope, is a 3.8 metre infrared reflecting telescope, the largest dedicated infrared telescope in the world. It is operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre in Hilo and located on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i as part of Mauna Kea Observatory...
on Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea
Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii. Standing above sea level, its peak is the highest point in the state of Hawaii. However, much of the mountain is under water; when measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over tall—significantly taller than Mount Everest...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. They observed a drop off in flux beyond 1.13 micrometre
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
s with the VLT
Very Large Telescope
The Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to...
. Attributing this drop off to Lyman alpha
Lyman series
In physics and chemistry, the Lyman series is the series of transitions and resulting ultraviolet emission lines of the hydrogen atom as an electron goes from n ≥ 2 to n = 1...
absorption by neutral hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
in the intergalactic medium, they calculated a redshift of 8.2 for GRB 090423. The team of C.C. Thöne and Paolo D'Avanzo observed the afterglow of GRB 090423 using the Italian TNG
Telescopio Nazionale Galileo
The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, or TNG, is a 3.58m Italian telescope located on the island of San Miguel de La Palma , in the Canary Islands archipelago. It is one of the largest telescopes hosted by the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, a very important observing site in the northern hemisphere...
3.6m telescope located in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. They obtained two hours of spectra
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
, which when combined, suggested a very weak signal at the position of the afterglow. They too saw a drop off in flux near 1.1 micrometres, and reported a redshift of 8.1 for GRB 090423, which is consistent, within error, of the redshift reported by Tanvir et al.
The intergovernmental astronomy organisation, European Southern Observatory (ESO)
European Southern Observatory
The European Southern Observatory is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy, supported by fifteen countries...
also detected the faint GRB using ESO’s Very Large Telescope
Very Large Telescope
The Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to...
. They confirmed the same redshift data collected and approximated the event to have taken place 13 billion years ago. The GRB was not visible in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
when Swift first detected the burst at 07:55 UTC, but was the following day at 03:00 UTC, which allowed the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector (GROND)
Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector
The Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector is an imaging instrument used to investigate Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows. It is operated at the MPI/ESO 2.2m telescope at the La Silla Observatory.- Discoveries :...
at La Silla Observatory
La Silla Observatory
La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory organisation, and several others are partly maintained by ESO...
to make observations of the burst, and find a redshift consistent with the value reported elsewhere. The last observers to gather data during the event was the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA)
Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy
The Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy is an astronomical instrument comprising 23 radio telescopes. These telescopes form an astronomical interferometer where all the signals are combined in a purpose-built computer to produce high-resolution astronomical images.- Location...
observatory. The observation of GRB 090423 by CARMA was taken at a frequency of 92.5 GHz. While the afterglow was not detected, they were able to place a 3-sigma upper limit of 0.7 mJy
Jansky
The flux unit or jansky is a non-SI unit of spectral flux density equivalent to 10−26 watts per square metre per hertz...
on the flux density
Flux
In the various subfields of physics, there exist two common usages of the term flux, both with rigorous mathematical frameworks.* In the study of transport phenomena , flux is defined as flow per unit area, where flow is the movement of some quantity per time...
of the afterglow.
Observation history
| Time (UTC) | Details of the GRB 090423 observation |
|---|---|
| April 23, 2009 07:55 UTC | Swift Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission consists of a robotic spacecraft called Swift, which was launched into orbit on 20 November 2004, 17:16:00 UTC on a Delta II 7320-10C expendable launch vehicle. Swift is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and was developed by an international... starts detecting burst, GRB 090423 is not yet visible in Chile |
| April 23, 2009 07:58 UTC | Several groups in the United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... begin their observations of the GRB |
| April 23, 2009 08:16 UTC | First observations of an infrared afterglow by Tanvir's team using UKIRT in Mauna Kea Mauna Kea Mauna Kea is a volcano on the island of Hawaii. Standing above sea level, its peak is the highest point in the state of Hawaii. However, much of the mountain is under water; when measured from its oceanic base, Mauna Kea is over tall—significantly taller than Mount Everest... , Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... (http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3/9202.gcn3) |
| April 23, 2009 15:00 UTC | Using Gemini-North Gemini Observatory The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two telescopes at sites in Hawai‘i and Chile. Together, the twin Gemini telescopes provide almost complete coverage of both the northern and southern skies... , Cucchiara’s team also in Hawaii, reports a wrong photometry Photometry (astronomy) Photometry is a technique of astronomy concerned with measuring the flux, or intensity of an astronomical object's electromagnetic radiation... claiming that z=9 (http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3/9209.gcn3) |
| April 23, 2009 20:30 UTC | Cucchiara retracts report and revises photometry placing a constrain on the redshift between 7 and 9 (http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn3/9213.gcn3) |
| April 23, 2009 22:00 UTC | An Italian team led by Thöne using Telescopio Nazionale Galileo Telescopio Nazionale Galileo The Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, or TNG, is a 3.58m Italian telescope located on the island of San Miguel de La Palma , in the Canary Islands archipelago. It is one of the largest telescopes hosted by the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, a very important observing site in the northern hemisphere... (TNG) starts its observation |
| April 23, 2009 23:00 UTC | The GRB now becomes visible in Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... and the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector The Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector is an imaging instrument used to investigate Gamma-Ray Burst afterglows. It is operated at the MPI/ESO 2.2m telescope at the La Silla Observatory.- Discoveries :... at La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory organisation, and several others are partly maintained by ESO... , observes at 7 bands simultaneously |
| April 24, 2009 01:30 UTC | Tanvir's team using the Very Large Telescope Very Large Telescope The Very Large Telescope is a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The VLT consists of four individual telescopes, each with a primary mirror 8.2m across, which are generally used separately but can be used together to... (VLT) starts its observations |
| April 24, 2009 03:00 UTC | Olivarez' team in Chile report the nearest photometry a z=8 (with errors +0.5, -1.2) |
| April 24, 2009 03:15 UTC | The Italian team led by Thöne reports a revised photometry at z=7.6 |
| April 24, 2009 07:30 UTC | Tanvir reports a photometry of z=8.2 |
| April 24, 2009 14:00 UTC | Tanvir's team revises their photometry report to z=8.1 |
| April 25, 2009 03:45 UTC | Krimm's team using BAT released a lag analysis where long or short burst was inconclusive |
| April 25, 2009 10:40 UTC | VLA non-detection |
| April 25, 2009 18:30 UTC | Olivarez' team at GROND releases final photometry at z=8.0 (with errors +0.4, -0.8) |
| April 28, 2009 00:30 UTC | PdB observations led by Castro-Tirado on 23-24 Apr allow to detect the mm afterglow at a flux density of 0.2 mJy at 90 GHz |
| April 28, 2009 02:00 UTC | Non-detection by CARMA ( >0.7 mJy) at 92.5 GHz |
Significance
At a redshift of z = 8.2, the burst was the most distant known object of any kind at the time of its discovery. GRB 090423 was also the oldest known object in the UniverseUniverse
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, as the light from the burst took approximately 13 billion years to reach Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. It has since been surpassed by the discovery of UDFy-38135539
UDFy-38135539
UDFy-38135539 is the Hubble Ultra Deep Field identifier for a galaxy which has been calculated to have a light travel time of 13.1 billion years with a present comoving distance of around 30 billion light-years...
, with a redshift of 8.6, however it is still the most distant GRB. The burst occurred when the universe was approximately one twentieth of its present age. Prior to the observations done on GRB 090423, the previous record holder for age and distance for GRBs was GRB 080913
GRB 080913
GRB 080913 was a gamma-ray burst observed on September 13, 2008. The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst satellite made the detection, with follow-up and additional observations from ground-based observatories and instruments, including the Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector and the Very Large...
, which was observed in September 2008. That burst had a redshift of 6.7, placing it approximately 190 million light-years closer to Earth than GRB 090423. Derek Fox, who led the observations done by Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, suggests that the GRB was most likely the result of the explosion of a massive star
Type II supernova
A Type II supernova results from the rapid collapse and violent explosion of a massive star. A star must have at least 9 times, and no more than 40–50 times the mass of the Sun for this type of explosion. It is distinguished from other types of supernova by the presence of hydrogen in its spectrum...
and its demise, which would probably have signalled the birth of a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
. The event occurred roughly 630 million years after the Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
, confirming that massive stellar births (and deaths) did indeed occur in the very early Universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
.
Joshua Bloom of the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, who was able to observe the afterglow at the Gemini South telescope in Chile, called the discovery of GRB 090423 a "watershed event" as it marked "the beginning of the study of the universe as it was before most of the structure that we know about today came into being." Nial Tanvir, who was part of the VLT team, suggests that gamma-ray bursts provide a unique tool to study the universe at early times because everything else is too faint to be observed. For instance, the first generation of stars have yet to be directly observed, but the progenitor of GRB 090423 may belong to this class. These early stars are expected to contribute to the reionisation of the universe, a process which ended at a redshift of about 6. As more powerful telescopes begin operation, such as the James Webb Space Telescope
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope , previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope , is a planned next-generation space telescope, optimized for observations in the infrared. The main technical features are a large and very cold 6.5 meter diameter mirror, an observing position far from Earth,...
that is set to launch in 2018, astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
s hope to pinpoint the locations of faint GRB host galaxies by using blasts similar to that of GRB 090423.
External links
- Video of GRB 090423 on Youtube
- Slashdot article "Most Distant Object Yet Detected, Bagged By Galileo Scope"
- Swift Mission at NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
/Goddard Space Flight CenterGoddard Space Flight CenterThe Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,... - GRB 090423 on WikiSky