neutron stars<\/a>.<\/p>\nNeutron stars are the dense cores of dead stars. They’re are so tightly packed, a single teaspoon of their stuff would weigh more than Mount Everest.<\/p>\n
![\"Artist's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/gamma-ray-burst.jpg\")
Artist’s impression of a supernova and associated gamma-ray burst driven by a rapidly spinning neutron star. Credit: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA)<\/p>\n
In the case of gamma-ray bursts, an initial powerful burst is followed by a glow that’s visible in X-ray and optical light.<\/p>\n
Telescopes attuned to these wavelengths have previously been able to capture gamma-ray burst events within seconds or minutes of them occurring<\/p>\n
But, say astronomers, millimetre-wave telescopes have previously not been able to capture them so quickly.<\/p>\n
![\"Artist's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-758305407-10fe761-e1638270521838.jpg\")
Artist’s illustration of magnetic field lines around a neutron star. Credit: Mark Garlick \/ Science Photo Library
\nA quick burst and a quick reaction<\/p>\n
On 26 January 2026, the Submillimeter Array observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii, made a breakthrough.<\/p>\n
Scientists from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian zoomed in on a gamma\u2011ray burst within minutes of its discovery.<\/p>\n
They were able to capture the earliest observations of a burst ever made at these frequencies.<\/p>\n
The observation began with an automated alert triggered by NASA\u2019s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which detected a flash of gamma rays.<\/p>\n
Within 90 seconds, the on-duty operator picked up the signal and within 4 minutes, the Submillimeter Array was observing.<\/p>\n
![\"Submillimeter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Submillimeter-Array-observatory-on-Maunakea.jpg\")
Submillimeter Array observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii. Credit: J. Weintroub<\/p>\n
“It was an incredible thing to watch in real time,” says Garrett Keating, an astrophysicist at CfA and Deputy Director of the SMA, who led the observations.<\/p>\n
“Being able to react and process data this quickly is a big departure from how SMA usually operates, but it was absolutely critical for capturing an event where minutes matter.<\/p>\n
“This was the first time we had the full system online. We learned a lot from the experience, and think we can get the response time down to as little as two to three minutes.”<\/p>\n
The team say that with 13 minutes, the observatory had the target locked, while a separate automated analysis was already producing images of the explosion in near real-time.<\/p>\n
“With interferometry, we don\u2019t get direct images from the telescope,” says Ranjani Srinavasan, interim director of the SMA. “Usually that process takes a long time.”<\/p>\n
![\"Artist's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/nasa-gehrels-swift-observatory.jpg\")
Artist’s impression of NASA’s Gehrels Swift Observatory. Credit: NASA
\nA game-changer<\/p>\n
Two days later, the team carried out follow\u2011up observations and discovered the source had faded which, they say, is further evidence that the observatory had captured the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“The SMA\u2019s new capability is a game-changer for the field,” says Edo Berger, professor of astronomy at Harvard and a co-author of the study.<\/p>\n
“This new capability opens a unique window into the physics behind some of the most powerful stellar explosions,” says Tanmoy Laskar, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah and a co-author of the study.<\/p>\n
“With the SMA, we can now probe the structure and composition of the ejecta in unprecedented detail, bringing us closer to understanding how these explosions launch their powerful jets.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists have detected and observed one of the brightest, most powerful explosions in the Universe, within minutes of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[85,46,141,145],"class_list":["post-519870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Could](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/supernova-earth-extinction.jpg\")
Credit: NASA\/CXC\/M. Weiss\/Getty<\/p>\n