3 ms·
What does “pointed in the wrong direction” mean? Isn’t it a sphere? Genuine question; I am ignorant of such things.
by doctor_eval 4y ago
What does “pointed in the wrong direction” mean? Isn’t it a sphere? Genuine question; I am ignorant of such things.
- Beltalowda 4y agoStars have a magnetic field and rotate along their axis, similar to planets. The burst is emitted along the axis of rotation (the geographic north and south pole). Many stellar objects rotate and/or have a magnetic field, and thus an "up", "down", and "side" in spite of being a sphere. Pulsars (extinguished stars that emit radio waves from their poles) are another famous example.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> What does “pointed in the wrong direction” mean? Gamma-ray bursts [1] are a class of observations, not single event. (Like how we first saw pulsars, and then learned they're neutron stars.) Some GRBs may originate from relativistic jets [2] emitted by massive, spinning, charged objects colliding (e.g. black holes) or collapsing (supernovae). Those jets' intensity is not uniform, they emit from the poles. (See: spinning, charged.) There are other proposed mechanisms that columnate emissions [3][4]. These involve a star's rotation creating a radiating column along the star's axis. (I'm not sure if the atoms in that column radiate with a bias.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-ray_burst [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysical_jet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysical_jet [3] https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9808355 https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9808355 [4] https://www.plasma-universe.com/gamma-ray-bursts/ https://www.plasma-universe.com/gamma-ray-bursts/
- mrshadowgoose 4y agoStars, like planets, rotate around an axis. GRBs that are emitted by collapsing stars are believed to be directionally aligned with the axis of rotation.