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by jackhack 2770 days ago
>If it is pointed directly at us

Is a gamma burst directional, or spherical in term of high-energy emission?

2 comments

You can read the Wikipedia article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst but to summarize the burst is believed to be a 'jet' this forms as part of the explosion of the spinning masses.
Directional, and this one is apparently pointed about 30 degrees away from us.
Can you point me to a source for that "about 30 degrees away from us"? I haven't seen it.

And, how directional? All the energy is spread across half the sky? Only 10 degrees? Or only one degree? Is 30 degrees enough for it to completely miss us? Mostly miss us? Or are we still in the danger cone?

Finally, in a binary star system, is that 30 degrees going to change as the stars orbit each other? (Worse, IIRC, there's a third, more distant star. Can it change the orbit of the other two in a way that shifts that 30 degrees?)

It’s mentioned in this article: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/is-this-cosmic-sprinkler-surro... .

My impression is that a GRB beam is on the order of a few degrees, but I can’t find that reference now.