Gamma ray burst: Astronomers spot strongest-ever explosion
The strongest gamma ray blast ever known, exceeding the power of 9,000 exploding stars, has been discovered by astronomers in the deep-space constellation Carina
The radiation burst occurred 12.2 billion light years 
away in deep space, in the constellation Carina. Its light has taken most of the age of the universe to reach us.
Gamma ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the universe. Scientists believe they occur when exotic massive stars run out of fuel and collapse to form a black hole.
Jets of material powered by processes that are not yet fully understood are thought to blast outwards at nearly the speed of light, generating intense gamma rays.
The new explosion, designated GRB 080916C, was spotted last year by the American space agency NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which is designed to detect gamma radiation.
Astronomers soon discovered that the gamma ray burst belonged in the record books.
The short-lived blast, described in the online version of the journal Science, was more powerful than nearly 9,000 ordinary supernovae, or exploding stars.
Scientists calculated that the material emitting the gamma rays must have been moving at 99.9999 per cent the speed of light.
The explosion was enigmatic as well as spectacular due to a curious time delay separating the highest-energy emissions from the lowest.
Scientists are still trying to understand the reason for the time delay, which may have a straightforward physical cause or be due to peculiar quantum effects.
Professor Peter Michelson, a member of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope team, said: "Burst emissions at these energies are still poorly understood.
"This one burst raises all sorts of questions. In a few years, we'll have a fairly good sample of bursts, and may have some answers."
away in deep space, in the constellation Carina. Its light has taken most of the age of the universe to reach us.Gamma ray bursts are the most luminous explosions in the universe. Scientists believe they occur when exotic massive stars run out of fuel and collapse to form a black hole.
Jets of material powered by processes that are not yet fully understood are thought to blast outwards at nearly the speed of light, generating intense gamma rays.
The new explosion, designated GRB 080916C, was spotted last year by the American space agency NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which is designed to detect gamma radiation.
Astronomers soon discovered that the gamma ray burst belonged in the record books.
The short-lived blast, described in the online version of the journal Science, was more powerful than nearly 9,000 ordinary supernovae, or exploding stars.
Scientists calculated that the material emitting the gamma rays must have been moving at 99.9999 per cent the speed of light.
The explosion was enigmatic as well as spectacular due to a curious time delay separating the highest-energy emissions from the lowest.
Scientists are still trying to understand the reason for the time delay, which may have a straightforward physical cause or be due to peculiar quantum effects.
Professor Peter Michelson, a member of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope team, said: "Burst emissions at these energies are still poorly understood.
"This one burst raises all sorts of questions. In a few years, we'll have a fairly good sample of bursts, and may have some answers."
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