What is a wave burst?

Burst gravitational waves come from short-duration unknown or unanticipated sources—they are the gravitational waves that go bump in the night. An example signal from an burst gravitational wave source.

What causes gamma-ray burst?

When fusion no longer generates enough pressure to counteract gravity, the star rapidly collapses to form a black hole. Theoretically, energy may be released during the collapse along the axis of rotation to form a gamma-ray burst.

What does a gamma-ray burst look like?

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are short-lived bursts of gamma-ray light, the most energetic form of light. Lasting anywhere from a few milliseconds to several minutes, GRBs shine hundreds of times brighter than a typical supernova and about a million trillion times as bright as the Sun.

Can gravitational waves destroy Earth?

Science Alert points out that there’s nothing in the universe that’s known to expel the necessary amount of energy to form a black hole from gravitational waves. However, if it does happen and it happens close enough to Earth, destruction would be certain for the planet.

What causes gravity waves?

Gravitational waves are ‘ripples’ in space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe. The strongest gravitational waves are produced by cataclysmic events such as colliding black holes, supernovae (massive stars exploding at the end of their lifetimes), and colliding neutron stars.

What happens if a gamma-ray burst hit Earth?

With the gamma-rays beamed directly at Earth, the radiation would destroy a significant portion of our atmosphere, specifically the ozone layer. Then there are the lethal doses of radiation that surface life would experience. The end result would be mass extinctions of most species of life on our planet.

What do gamma-ray bursts tell us?

Gamma-ray bursts are the strongest and brightest explosions in the universe, thought to be generated during the formation of black holes. Though they last mere seconds, gamma-ray bursts produce as much energy as the sun will emit during its entire 10-billion-year existence.

What happens if gravitational waves hit Earth?

As a result, time and space itself are stretched causing a slight wobble. But if we were closer to this violent event and the waves were much bigger, this impact could potentially tear our planet apart, triggering powerful continent-splitting earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and epic storms.