Summary

Description	As Swift begins its investigation of gamma-ray bursts, NASA scientists are anxious to see if their origins lie in the explanations of three possible theories. Ranging from simple to complex, all three theories have something in common: the destruction of stars to form infamous black holes. The first theory suggests a burst is triggered when a star's core collapses. Millions of years before the collapse, the hydrogen fuel inside the core begins to wither. Once the internal fuel supply is exhausted, the core implodes and creates a black hole. Within seconds of its formation, tandem particle jets erupt from the black hole's center. The twin jets rupture the star and produce a supernova explosion. This stellar detonation in turn ignites the gamma-ray burst. Like the previous 'collapsar' theory, the supernova model also involves the implosion of a star's core. As the star burns the last of its hydrogen, it swells into a red super-giant. At the same time, the inner iron core implodes, comp
Date	2004-11-17
Source	images.nasa.gov

Licensing

Public Domain (US Government Work)