No Gold and Platinum found in brightest supernova shocker!

On October 9, 2022, the solar system witnessed an extraordinary burst of intense radiation that quickly captured the attention of astronomers worldwide. This event, now known as BOAT (the Brightest of All Time), originated from a gamma-ray burst (GRB), the most powerful type of explosion in the universe. However, a surprising revelation from this event is that it did not result in the formation of gold or platinum, as is often expected with such colossal cosmic events.

Detailed analysis of the data, especially from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has provided new insights into this dramatic cosmic occurrence, identified as GRB 221009A. This burst, originating over two billion light-years away, was caused by the collapse of a massive star and became momentarily the most luminous object observed in X-ray and gamma-ray energies.

Dr. Peter Blanchard, who is leading the study, shared that while the GRB confirmed the collapse of a massive star, the expected heavy elements like gold and platinum were absent. This challenges the prevailing theories about how some of the universe’s heaviest elements are formed and prompts further scientific inquiries.

Blanchard explained that the absence of these elements in such a highly energetic GRB suggests that not all GRBs produce these materials. This finding is crucial as scientists continue to explore the origins of heavy elements in the universe. Future observations with JWST will further investigate whether less intense GRBs might yield these heavy elements.

The cause of the supernova’s extraordinary brightness is still under investigation, but it is speculated that the release of potent plasma jets may have played a role.

Eric Burns, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, is leading a study involving approximately 7,000 GRBs, mostly detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the Russian Konus instrument on NASA’s Wind spacecraft. This research aims to determine how frequently such extraordinarily bright events occur, with preliminary findings suggesting they happen roughly once every 10,000 years.