ABU DHABI (WAM)
Al Khatim Astronomical Observatory, located in the Abu Dhabi desert, successfully observed and documented a powerful cosmic explosion last night.
The observatory was the third in the world to publish results of this phenomenon.
This event, first detected by NASA's Swift and Fermi space telescopes, specialised in gamma rays, likely resulted from the explosion of a massive star (more than 20 times the mass of the sun) in a galaxy over 6 billion light-years away.
Named GRB 240825A, the phenomenon was detected by Al Khatim Observatory by observing the optical afterglow following the explosion.
Nidhal Guessoum, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, and Mohammed Shawkat Odeh, Director of the International Astronomy Centre, stated that this work was part of a collaboration between the International Astronomy Centre and the American University of Sharjah.
Odeh explained that upon receiving the notification from NASA’s space telescopes at 20:48 UAE time, Al Khatim Observatory's telescope was directed towards the source of the gamma rays and X-rays. After two hours of observation, visible light was captured, allowing the brightness to be measured, and the results were sent to NASA immediately.
The data showed a rapid fading of the afterglow, which researchers will study in the coming days and weeks. The attached images show the change in brightness of the exploding star over time and the exploding star as photographed from the observatory.
Guessoum noted significant global interest in observing this event using multiple filters from various locations, as such observations help scientists understand the evolution of massive stars, the first moments of their deaths, and the different types of radiation they produce.