Earth has been hit by an ‘impossible’ blast of light and now scientists have discussed why

It was thought to be impossible

Now strap yourself in for a science lesson.

The 50-second blast which hit Earth was initially thought to have stemmed from a massive star collapsing, but after looking into it further, the afterglow of the emissions showed that it was actually a "kilonova" which happens when neutron stars merge with other compact objects.

For years scientists believed that only a supernova could make a long gamma-ray burst of that kind, but not anymore.

Researchers now believe they have an explanation for the intense blast of light.

After simulating the evolution of a merger between a neutron star and a black hole, the group of scientists found that the black hole which was left behind after that merger can send out jets of material taken from the neutron star it has swallowed.

The scientists then discovered that a bright light can shoot out of the disc surroudning the black hole, should it have a weak enough magnetic field.

Ore Gottlieb, a researcher involved in the work, explained: "So far, no one else has developed any numerical works or simulations that consistently follow a jet from the compact-object merger to the formation of the jet and its large-scale evolution.

"The motivation for our work was to do this for the first time. And what we found just so happened to match observations of GRB211211A.”

Related links: