The Quanta Podcast

Brightest-Ever Space Explosion Reveals Possible Hints of Dark Matter

Mar 1, 2023
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ANECDOTE

Mid-Flight Surprise

  • Judy Rakison learned about the BOAT explosion mid-flight to a conference.
  • The "brightest of all time" explosion buzzed among her colleagues.
INSIGHT

Unprecedented Brightness

  • The BOAT, a long gamma-ray burst, was so bright it oversaturated the Fermi telescope.
  • The burst's energy was estimated to be 10,000 times more than the Sun's lifetime output.
INSIGHT

Ionospheric Impact

  • The BOAT's intensity caused Earth's ionosphere to swell for hours.
  • Doug Welch compared this effect to solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
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