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Black Hole Birth Detected this Morning

Posted by timothy on from the look-out-for-space-placenta dept.

An anonymous reader writes "SPACE.com is reporting on the first optical afterglow ever detected from a short-duration (milliseconds) Gamma-Ray Burst. The GRB signals the birth of a black hole resulting from a merger between two neutron stars. Theory had predicted the whole thing, which was all spotted this morning by NASA's Swift satellite and ground-based observatories, thanks to an automated email system that notifies astronomers worldwide."

2 of 337 comments (clear)

  1. If you hear the bomb fall... by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I read somewhere about workers at an Army ammunition plant. A newbie came on, and was being shown around his area of responsibility, when there was a loud metallic CLANG, as some object in the warehouse full of high explosives dropped to the floor. The newbie instinctively dove to the ground has his compatriots chuckled. As he stood back up, they told him, "If you hear it hit the floor, it didn't explode."

    Looks like this one was a dud. Lucky much?

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  2. Terminology, people! by WormholeFiend · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Shouldn't this be more appropriately described as a black hole being ripped, rather than being born?