- #1
Strato Incendus
- 184
- 23
Since gamma-ray bursts travel at the speed of light, my state of knowledge is that, if one were to hit Earth, we would of course only see it the moment it hits us. Furthermore, to my knowledge, we haven’t observed any GRBs within the milky way yet.
However, what if there were a GRB within the milky way (i.e., much closer than the ones we’ve observed so far, in other galaxies) that wasn’t pointed at Earth, but instead, we were observing it from the side — could we watch it travel through space? For example, in order to see how far away it was from a solar system which it is going to hit at the end?
Since these bursts, as far as I know, last between a few seconds and one minute, I imagine the jet would already have “torn off” from its source. Meaning, there wouldn’t be an uninterrupted stream from the star / black hole that caused the burst all the way to the target. While the burst has already stopped at its source, its “point” should still be on its way. Basically, it should act like two arrows of light on their way, shot in opposite directions.
To my knowledge, gamma-ray bursts get wider the further they travel, like a cone shape. So the longer it travels, the easier it should be to see. Then again, the longer it travels, the further its energy should decrease, too — and, along with that, probably also its luminosity. Which in turn should then make it harder to see again.
So in short: With the telescopes on a spaceship, could you observe a gamma-ray burst from within the milky way from the side, in order to tell how far it is currently away from a planet it is going to hit in the future?
However, what if there were a GRB within the milky way (i.e., much closer than the ones we’ve observed so far, in other galaxies) that wasn’t pointed at Earth, but instead, we were observing it from the side — could we watch it travel through space? For example, in order to see how far away it was from a solar system which it is going to hit at the end?
Since these bursts, as far as I know, last between a few seconds and one minute, I imagine the jet would already have “torn off” from its source. Meaning, there wouldn’t be an uninterrupted stream from the star / black hole that caused the burst all the way to the target. While the burst has already stopped at its source, its “point” should still be on its way. Basically, it should act like two arrows of light on their way, shot in opposite directions.
To my knowledge, gamma-ray bursts get wider the further they travel, like a cone shape. So the longer it travels, the easier it should be to see. Then again, the longer it travels, the further its energy should decrease, too — and, along with that, probably also its luminosity. Which in turn should then make it harder to see again.
So in short: With the telescopes on a spaceship, could you observe a gamma-ray burst from within the milky way from the side, in order to tell how far it is currently away from a planet it is going to hit in the future?