The Star Explosion So Powerful, It Compressed Our Atmosphere from 2 Billion Light Years Away

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

Not a gamma ray burst, but around 2007, I was up at 3AM with my dad to watch a Persied meteor shower. We saw several nice meteors every minute with orange/green whispy ion trails. Then we saw an extremely bright bolide meteor streak across the sky and flash several times with several colors. Blue red and white and the green/orang ion trail glowed for maybe 2-3 minutes. Probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. I'll never forget it.

[@mirthenary]

On Sept 17, 2021, I was on my way to Elkins, WV for work, and saw a meteor in the middle of the day! There were a couple of bright orange flashes, and it was gone, but it left two puffs of smoke behind! By the time I pulled over to take a picture, it was starting to blow away. But I still have the pic of it. Pretty amazing that I caught an actual meteor in the middle of the day

[@thanos8914]

I Can confirm this happened because I remember blowing up a few meteors by accident in earths space

[@robbannstrom]

No kidding, but if you saw blue, then it's already too late - you're done for. Those blue rays will have wreaked untold damage in your brain, and you will by now be a zombie under the control of the aliens. Sorry to break it to you. Your family should all be wearing aluminum foil beanies, just sayin'...

[@CC-ns2ds]

I got drunk with friends and climbed on my school roof one time at night to watch a meteor shower and an absolutely huge (huge relative to the others) one plunged, what appeared to be, straight down and glowed bright blue-white and left what I could only describe as a ‘scar’ in the night sky, I’ll never forget that.

[@mrseriousv1]

IS THAT A MOIST CRITICAL REFERENCE???????

[@dainbramage9508]

Considering how this happened during a time when we actually had the tech to see it makes me wonder if these events are relatively common on an astronomical timeline

[@8rlx0]

1 in 10000 seems pretty common in astronomical timeline

[@yaldabaoth2]

With a sample size of 1, it's impossible to tell.

[@thorr18BEM]

Very narrow emissions though so shouldn't be perfectly aimed at us most of the time.

[@idrbn3]

It happened 2,000,000,000 years ago. We just happened to live in a time where we had the tech to see it.if we had never evolved to do that then we just wouldn't know about it yet it still happened.I believe it's highly likely that we will never figure out the how,why,where and when was because fundamentally everything is quantum ( as far as our science allows us to describe it) .....unless our science and tech can "rewind" EVERY event in the ENTIRE universe from now back to then🫡

[@matthewboire6843]

I guess we need to keep looking for them to see if they are common

[@Boyso5407]

I just can’t comprehend how it released more energy in a few seconds than the sun will in its entire existence. That’s insane

[@alphamineron]

I just wonder, comparing it to scorching sunlight… how that light could probably vaporize an entire solid mass of uranium within a second.

[@mhdualbladesonly]

Kind of mid tbh. Goku heck spongebob can release more energy than that

[@mhdualbladesonly]

Pretty mid. Not impressed

[@rottingsun]

@@mhdualbladesonlylame, unfunny, childish joke tbh. 0/10

[@rottingsun]

it really is incomprehensible- makes my brain go "blue screen" like a crashing computer.🤯 another wicked cool thing to consider is ultra-massive black holes, like TON-618, which weigh in at 60~ billion solar masses- and they've recently detected a few that are even bigger than that. wild that anything can be so huge, let alone a hole in the fabric of spacetime itself.

[@paulc5525]

In 1989 i was rafting in Nepal. One night I couldn't sleep and was just gazing at the sky, when i saw a flash of light. It expanded and receded in about 3 or 4 seconds, like something exploding. Everyone else was asleep so couldn't compare what I saw. Maybe it was meteorite, but it didn't move.

[@bill9540]

You had me at “rafting in Nepal” ☺️…sounds great👍

[@VaraLaFey]

Could've been a meteorite coming straight at you. Neil deGrasse Tyson has a similar story from during one of the meteor showers.

[@edmoran869]

When a meteorite is coming straight at you, it doesn't appear to move, because the ability to detect movement is proportional to its angular momentum. Just as if it was moving directly away from you. But if it goes in any other direction in even seconds of arc, movement is detected.

[@dannyroosenboom3640]

gamma ray bursts are not visible light but you can compare it with X-rays? special sensors are needed to make that light 'visible'

[@icarus745]

Heading in your direction if no apparent movement..😱

[@gutika113]

Y’all knocked the visuals in this one out of the freaking park *chefs kiss*

[@pattoneill2402]

Thanks!

[@JackDespero]

I attended a public seminar given at my research institute by the man who theorized and named the Axions, and won a Nobel prize for it his work on time crystals, Frank Wilczek. So this comes directly from the horse's mouth, even if I might be botchering some of the details from my recollection. I am also telling this because it was said in a public forum, even if it feels like a cool secret to keep. He said that as a child/teenager/younger self, there was this brand of detergent called Axion, that sounded like a particle and he said that in the future he would use that name for something. Then the axions were discovered, and there were even some competing names (I cannot recall at the moment, but they were not that great), he said "You can thank me for a much better name". He said that he was very lucky that there were some connection between these particles and some axis, so that he had an excuse to call them Axions. So, yes, the particle is not named after axis, as many scientist think, but after the detergent. The axis thing was just the excuse given to the journal publisher and referees.

[@anirudhnair558]

Just curious, what was the research institute? and if the seminar was recorded?

[@robbannstrom]

Thank god he didn't name it the "Omo" or "Daz" particle.

[@john-fu2ry]

axions are still very much theoretical physics, they've never been discovered. that doesn't mean they're not an important part of physics, but we've never found anything we could definitively call axions.

[@Neearle]

¡Gracias!

[@sunsetland1589]

Yes. More for Axion.

[@C_A_I_N_N]

Agreed

[@krunez]

Yes plese!

[@kaiying74]

+1 for Axion please.

[@AlexanderJamesWhite]

Axion

[@williamyoung9401]

The show is called "Astrum". Axion is a hypothetical particle with no evidence of their existence...

[@TheSmokeofAnubis]

Space is absolutely wild

[@GhostSenshi]

To think that all of us probably absorbed some bits of those gamma rays in our bodies, that all came from something so incredibly rare. Makes you feel blessed if you appreciate such knowledge

[@alexander777-n3s]

I wish I could have the hulks strength though 😂

[@clauslangenbroek9897]

@alexander777-n3s Who knows what will become of you in the future 🤷🏼☺️

[@GhostSenshi]

@@alexander777-n3s if only that’s how charged particles with our dna worked haha

[@abrahamroloff8671]

Gamma rays don't pass through the earth, like neutrons do. Only one hemisphere got hit with it, and it was the half that includes China.

[@bennyb.1742]

@@GhostSenshi It's not a tumor ok!?

[@aarnavlovesnature]

Hello Astrum, thank you for your amazing videos explaining things deeper, and unknown. Also debunking myths

[@clauslangenbroek9897]

Confirmative.

[@TheFunkyKettle]

Try billions of tonnes of gold my guy.

[@ukuphuza]

B.O.A.T. IS 🐐

[@clauslangenbroek9897]

@ukuphuza 🛶

[@JAmonOfficial]

😁😁😁

[@Tesla_Ampersand_Friends]

0:38 🤭🤭🤭

[@jeremiahdavismusic]

I believe that if we had less light pollution, more of us would see this kind of thing with our own eyes. Sometime during the 2020 lockdown, I saw a star flickering kinda funny for a couple nights. One night, I was grabbing wood for a fire, I watched that star grow bigger and brighter than a Maglight, not like a welding arc but more like a flashlight, and it was gone. I cant say for sure what I saw, but I another star do that when I was very young. I have other witnesses for that one.

[@WillDa713]

He's Alex McOlgan, you're watching astrum, I'm dad. Have a great one y'all.

[@nickjohnson410]

You did a good job Sir 👍

[@clauslangenbroek9897]

Have a wonderful evening! 😊

[@heniiku]

You raised a great lad!

[@justadildeau]

When will you be home with the milk 🥛

[@joeandjoe2]

Not my dad.

[@MichaelStrathmore]

Space is the best.

[@p382742937423y4]

Better the matter?

[@XXSkunkWorksXX]

It's a toss up between that and number of bathrooms for me.

[@MichaelStrathmore]

@@XXSkunkWorksXX All of space could be your bathroom. Think about it.

[@vazap8662]

That was a particularly fascinating video, even in Astrum's very high standards 😉 Alex and team outdid themselves on this one!

[@mm-yt8sf]

with something that lasts only minutes to hours are astronomers around the planet getting texts and dropping everything they're doing to bring/aim any additional instruments they can point at the thing? i wonder if every facility becomes a chaotic scene of lab coats running around (i'm not sure what astronomers wear so i'll assume it's like a cartoon) 🙂

[@TheAncientAstronomer]

Nope no lab coats! 😁 But a lot of excitement.

[@ltdees2362]

@@TheAncientAstronomer Lots of Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops going crazy 😛

[@TheAncientAstronomer]

@@ltdees2362 Well I can't speak for others, but I'm an Amon Amarth t- shirt kinda guy, 🤘😁 And no flip flops!

[@ltdees2362]

@@TheAncientAstronomer 🤣 👍

[@ddmich9313]

🤣

[@thirstyCactus]

Yes, please make a video about axions!

[@sirwholland7]

Ginormous Star (now official scientific term) thanks Astrum!

[@norb.engineering]

Psgynormous Latin twist.

[@Justzayn1]

For some reason space video relax me

[@Kadath_Gaming]

Yes please for a deeper dive into Axions 😀

[@rikdedecker8227]

Semper aliquid novae ex astra affert!!! WOW what an amazing phenomenon, beautifully explained! And raising many new questions!!

[@KayBee.91]

So someone used the Infinity Stones again

[@michaelshortland8863]

This was excellent timing, your video of the BOAT matches PBS Space Time's video on creating new heavier elements, in which they discuss neutron star mergers. SNAP.

[@rottingsun]

I noticed that too- on point!💯💥🤯

[@matthewboire6843]

Gamma ray bursts are so incredibly cool; they are the some of the most powerful explosions in the entire universe!

[@williamyoung9401]

Astrum should do an episode about how gamma ray burst detectors almost wiped out humanity... ☢

[@davidhoffman2311]

I’d very much enjoy a second video about axions! Thank you! :)

[@MauricioLJ]

Indeed!! Thank you Astrum, simply amazing videos.

[@newacc4461]

Yes I would LOVE a video on the axion particle! Thank you for your content, I Absolutely love it. It's one of the very very few space documentary/channels that doesn't assume your viewer was born yesterday and is just learning about black holes for example.

[@JarkkoToivonen]

Great work Alex, thanks 🙏

[@Jodie-G198]

The BOAT - those astronomers got a good sense of humor (and practicality). 😆 The other tangents related to the lead story - great. Always gets me thinkin' about the grandness of this universe.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Alex! ⬛

[@mdavid1955]

Another great video! Bazinga!

[@federicobertagna1066]

Terrific communication skill this Alex lad!

[@mjbuffa28]

Dude, I love this channel

[@davecool42]

9:25 Four Hydrogen atoms combine to make one Helium atom? Doesn’t sound right to me.

[@yaldabaoth2]

It's more complicated, of course, with more intermediary steps to make the neutrons but it is true.

[@gulleyfoyle6859]

Dave Cool, Stellar Physicist (PhD)

[@thomaskerslack4299]

@@gulleyfoyle6859 why so toxic? I came here to the comments as well because of this question. Expecting some constructive normal conversation and explaination and seeing this is very sad. Can you at least explain it yourself then?

[@davecool42]

@@thomaskerslack4299 Thank you. I was also looking for some intelligent discourse on the topic. My assumption is that four protons is going to make beryllium. But as my confidence level for this is just ‘sounds right’ as a layperson, I’m very much open to a more thorough understanding.

[@alexholker1309]

@@davecool42 Two of the protons decay into neutrons. Apparently it occurs in an intermediate step where two 1H atoms fuse to become a 2H atom, which then continues fusing to eventually become 4He.

[@Knight_of_NI]

Great video Astrum, you have one of the best space and science channels on KZbin!

[@fleetstreet11]

*chants in Lovecraftian*

[@harmoney-tk5wd]

OULL RIZZ XATA SKIBIDI FANUM TAX

[@TrevorNelson-r9v]

There's always a need for a bigger B.O.A.T.

[@sethdarby708]

could you imagine an earth sized body floating out there made entirely out of gold that would be the ultimate gold mine.

[@johnmann6866]

Except it'd be so common it'd be worthless.

[@Iohannis42]

Gold always has worth because it is always useful. The price would drop a bit.

[@johnmann6866]

@Iohannis42 gold is primarily useful as a store of wealth because of its relative rarity and its non degradablity. Its price would drop astronomically if was common.

[@kmatcyk]

Thank you Alex. You guys are amazing.

[@IRISJONES3]

Astrum, I am such a big fan of your work. Thanks you so much. I enjoy every video.

[@Mr.johninjax]

I would definitely enjoy a separate video about the hypothetical story of the Axion.

[@LukeTube007]

Thank you so much ASTRUM. I was so impressed with your description and the visuals that you came to do give understanding I signed a subscription to you immediately. I wish that I had something monetary to give to you, but I'm paralyzed on welfare. Thanks again, Luke

[@toodlepop]

it's cool how we don't even know how little of the universe we've even seen, but we are 100% certain that it was a big bang that started it all.

[@nilstelle365]

As it did not just head towards earth but expanded in every direction shows how much energy was generated in it’s explosion

[@NeoRazor]

0:35 You forgot the last period on B.O.A.T.

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

Time to redo the entire video 😭

[@user-yf1to2fx9r]

Imagine he just gaslights you like “nah didn’t miss anything mate”

[@Pseudo___]

Brightest of all t

[@Thatdamnsmith]

You must fun at parties….

[@PantsuMann]

Alex, have you ever thought of nothing? Like before the big bang nothing. I've been thinking about it a lot recently. Maybe nothing is impossible and maybe thats why we have space time foam and spooky quantum physics, particles popping into existance. If nothing is impossible, for us the universe has an age as we experience time, but since there was no time before, there is no real beginning and the universe could might as well be infinite, there will always and forever be something. Might be worth a video on its own. Love your episodes. Watching both on YT and listening as a playlist when I go to sleep. Thanks for your hard work!

[@clauslangenbroek9897]

That's cool. 👍🏼 Makes sense, at least logically. I suppose, we two will never know, though 😊

[@PantsuMann]

@clauslangenbroek9897 I mean it would explain how the big bang happened everywhere and not a single point

[@abrahamroloff8671]

​​@@PantsuMannImagine that you're making an airtight box. When you complete the box and seal it, can you explain to me the single point where the air currently in the box got in? You can't, because there is no such point. The "air inside the box", as a distinct concept, didn't exist before the box itself. Both came into being at the same time, and the box was already full of air at that point.

[@lukeskydropper]

The channel “closer to truth” touches on that a lot

[@dab88]

in the vastly distant future, after every star has died, after every atom has decayed, when the distances between the leftover radiation becomes multiple times bigger than the universe itself. At that point, there are versions of maths that indicate the state of the universe will be the same as when it began: nothingness.

[@bigsarge2085]

Fascinating.

[@ZZ-sb8os]

I probably won't be smart enough to understand all of it, but I will happily look forward to that future video on axiom particles

[@lucasderhase]

One of ur best videos ever! You once again managed to explain complex phisics and chemistry with an exiting, relatively recent, event. thanks 🙏

[@Mika-ph6ku]

Alien superweapon obviously

[@jcp7620]

...fully armed and OPERATIONAL battlestation!

[@rottingsun]

unlikely.

[@Pados_music]

In some kind of George Lukas childverse of course.

[@10thmountainsoldier90]

Yup we do want a video

[@anteast2684]

Amazing channel Sir! Your vignettes are so informative and I love to learn so your channel is currently my all time KZbin favourite.

[@JKDVIPER]

5:14 I’m gonna guess what made it so bright, gravitational lensing. I bet.

[@philipB31]

Fascinating, thank you.

[@leemastro9904]

I’d like to see a video about axions.

[@danieldmg]

Very interesting, congrats

[@Nefertiti0403]

I Appreciate you

[@stevenedwards2532]

Fantastic video! Thanks!

[@MrGinotonix]

Never heard about Axioms. Please expand!

[@Sunshinelovepeach]

Alex! 😂 I literally lol’d when you said these gamma rays are “out of pocket” ❤❤❤

[@sstrick500]

I remember, my game lagged when it hit.

[@jimmykreutz6087]

Seriously??

[@Snakeybloo]

Cosmic rays do affect computers so it cpuld happen​@@jimmykreutz6087

[@vg6761]

My PC was making weird noises too

[@MedicAthlete24W]

Correlation is not causation

[@AlexFlockhart]

My Mario 64 speed run went much better than usual

[@Navneet_100]

Thank you for making such content 😊 astronomy ❤❤

[@jamesmetz5147]

Very useful. Thanks for the effort.

[@TATICMOOR]

I love to watch your videos, as they are so wonderfully put together.

[@ZaphodOddly]

A video on axions would be great!!

[@Amethyst_Friend]

Yes please to the axions video, Alex!

[@MadgeChaplin-s2c]

The toy brought back fond memories of being lost in the rain forest.

[@Robbadobbsoldier]

Great as always. Please elaborate on axioms 😊

[@vintagelady1]

Col, excellent & well done, good explanation & graphics. I do wish you hadn't implied that we could have seen the gamma rays in the conventional sense of seeing things---we detected them & they were "bright" in the sense of being strong, most powerful, most energetic---but the sky didn't light up. Fortunate that it didn't---I expect that would have been a bad indication! I love that there are mysteries like this---I think it will be a sad day if we ever figure everything out!

[@JIMMILLS-vo4dw]

I just came up with a neat idea: when someone or something is really superlatively great we should call them the GOAT-greatest of all time!

[@dannykraeger1602]

Definitely a video on axiom

[@AlbertaThorndike]

Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.

[@vrindamohan91]

It is actually stealing glances at each other while pretending to look in the same direction 😆

[@rpkurtz]

Umm, YES-an entire video on Axions would be brilliant. ✨👌🏻✨

[@morningplum1234]

Yes please! I'd love to learn more about hypothetical axions

[@stevedrane2364]

Fascinating. . Thank you for the information. . . 👍 Brilliant video. . 😁 Mr Sagan would be proud of your presentation.

[@lisac.9393]

Such a great channel!

[@HymanAntoinette]

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.

[@ruperterskin2117]

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@ritswik]

Thanks for the gamma ray history lesson, l'll read the specific news somewhere else

[@mm-yt8sf]

when calculating the immense energy of a gamma ray burst is the fact that the energy is concentrated into a thin (do we know how thin?) stream used to come up with the energy output? the brightness of the sun is at a disadvantage when compared to a narrow beam? or do they just compare the apparent brightness of any objects i was wondering what the odds were of being directly in the line of fire, but i guess if we knew the angle of spread of a grb we'd just have to take a fraction of the entire sphere... 🙂unless the burst itself is so powerful it creates its own EM frields that spread the beam out more

[@tomrausner8604]

YES, please make an episode on Axions.

[@billtomson5791]

The boat's the goat. Sorry, couldn't resist.

[@legallyblind-guy1947]

Please he’s a video on axions is much needed

[@KentBobbins]

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.

[@HunterNehem]

Behind the window was a reflection that only instilled fear.

[@wildarcana]

Thanks for the useful information you shared.❤

[@Clarence_13x]

Get well soon.

[@bbbenj]

Very interesting, thanks 👍

[@dr.a006]

The more we learn, the more we don’t understand, which keeps us learning more.

[@TrouPitnan]

No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again.

[@ErinPearson-o2g]

To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.

[@313Hades]

Particle physics is fascinating.

[@Zookeeper.]

Yep.. I felt it in my bones 🩻

[@Morbazan125]

I watch so many astronomy channels and this is the first I’ve heard of this event, I don’t know how I miss things😂

[@MrAntiKnowledge]

Small correction: Decay/fission produces LIGHTER Elements, because it means atoms losing neutrons. For heavier elements to form you need fusion.

[@thipakra8705]

Yes. Video for AXIONS !!

[@iRossco]

In Sept, 2000 in Australian SW sky 7:20pm, iirc, I saw a slow 'flash' went from nothing visible unaided to brightest star in the sky, in 2sec, was steady for 20sec, then faded to nothing in 2sec. No movement against background stars.

[@NileBaker-g2q]

I saw other comments saying the same thing. Perhaps some of you saw the same thing 🤔

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Photons into axions? Yes please! 🙏🏻

[@footshotstube]

wow thanks, yes please @8:27 😀