Observatory sees 500th deep-space explosion

‘Remarkable milestone’ for space-based satellite orbiting Earth

	The Swift observatory has been hunting for gamma-ray bursts since its launch in 2004 to give astronomers instant notice of the short-lived — but huge — explosions in space. In this photo, as the star explodes, the narrow beam (white) of gamma rays is emitted first, followed by the wider beam (purple).  View related photos
NASA/Swift/Cruz deWilde

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updated 10:02 p.m. ET April 21, 2010

NASA's Swift observatory, keeping watch for the most powerful explosions in the universe, has hit a major milestone after spotting its 500th cosmic detonation in deep space.

Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and gamma-ray bursts are brief but brilliant blasts that represent a colossal release of energy. The Swift observatory, a space-based satellite orbiting the Earth, has been hunting for them since its launch in 2004 to give astronomers instant notice of the short-lived — but huge — explosions in space.

"On the one hand, it's just a number, but on the other it is a remarkable milestone," said Neil Gehrels, Swift's lead researcher at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Each burst has turned over a new piece of the puzzle and a clearer picture is emerging." 

Swift's main job is to quickly pinpoint each gamma-ray burst, report its position so that others can immediately conduct follow-up observations and then study the burst using its X-ray and ultraviolet and optical telescopes. Only explosions that happen to be aimed in Earth's direction can be picked up by the space observatory.

How gamma-ray bursts happen The sources of most gamma-ray bursts are dying stars that are typically billions of light-years away from Earth, which means they are not only extremely far away, but also extremely energetic and powerful since they can be observed at such great distances.

The bursts come in long and short varieties. The long gamma-ray bursts (those lasting longer than two seconds) are associated with the deaths of massive stars in distant galaxies, astronomers have said.

When such a star runs out of fuel, its core collapses and can form a black hole surrounded by a dense, hot disk of gas called an accretion disk. These black holes can divert part of the infalling matter into a pair of high-energy jets that move so fast — upwards of 99.9 percent the speed of light — that collisions within them produce gamma rays.

The jet then continues on, later striking gas beyond the dying star that results in afterglows.

Hidden space explosion
Swift's 500th burst, officially known as GRB 100413B, exploded in constellation Cassiopeia as a long burst. But it wasn't detected in on-board analysis of data from the spacecraft's Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), which was interrupted 18 seconds after the burst, as the satellite slewed to a pre-planned target.

Instead, GRB 100413B came to light when David Palmer, an astrophysicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, later analyzed the data.

"The BAT team regularly digs through the data once it comes to the ground and finds weak bursts like this one that take a bit of special care," said Goddard's Judith Racusin, who coordinated burst observations that day.

Swift also conducts ultraviolet studies of exploding stars, monitors black holes and neutron stars for surges of high-energy radiation, and carries out long-term X-ray surveys of the entire sky.

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Gamma-ray bursts were first discovered in 1967 by unclassified military satellites designed to look for clandestine nuclear tests.

The first observations required extensive analysis to be sure that the bursts were truly originating beyond the solar system, and these results were not published until 1973.

Biological treasures from Borneo New Discoveries

Scientists are showing off some of the 123 new species they've found in the remote forests of Borneo, three years after the three nations that own pieces of the island agreed to safeguard 85,000 square miles (220,000 square kilometers) in the "Heart of Borneo."

The species, including a flying frog that changes color and a slug that shoots "love darts," are detailed in a report from the global conservation group WWF, celebrating Earth Day as well as the success of the Heart of Borneo preservation effort. The leaders of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia signed onto a pledge in 2007 that called for species protection as well as sustainable development of the rainforest region.

The Heart of Borneo boasts scores of animal species, hundreds of bird species and thousands of types of plants that are found nowhere else in the world. A century and a half ago, evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin called the island "one great luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself."

Scientists are just beginning to get to the remotest regions of that hothouse - but they're racing against developers who are putting in roads, chopping down trees and turning large tracts of the forests into palm oil plantations. About half of the Heart is in private hands, so "the private sector is crucial to ensuring sustainable land use," the WWF's report says.

The three-nation initiative provides for the establishment of a "Green Business Network" that will raise private-sector awareness about green-development goals. Financing mechanisms are being set up to reward conservation-conscious land use, and public lands are being put into a network of protected areas.

"Three years on, the Heart of Borneo Declaration is proving to be an irreplaceable foundation for conservation and sustainable development by establishing a framework for action to protect Borneo’s globally outstanding biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods," Adam Tomasek, leader of the WWF's Heart of Borneo initiative, said in an Earth Day news release about the newly discovered species.

The continuing pace of scientific discovery - about three new species per month - provides evidence that the initiative is working, Tomasek said.

	WWF
	The "Heart of Borneo" is an area divided between Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia on the island in Southeast Asia, north of Australia.

The Heart of Borneo is home to the world's longest insect, which was formally identified as a new species in 2008. Another species recently found in the region is Kopstein's bronzeback, a beautiful snake with a terrible bite. (You can watch a YouTube video of the snake gobbling down a lizard. Ick!)

Yet another species is a frog that can glide through the air using its wide, webbed feet and aerodynamic flaps of skin on its arms and legs. The frog has bright green skin at night but turns to a brown hue during the day. And then there's the green-yellow slug that shoots "love darts" made from calcium carbonate at its would-be mates. (If you must know, the darts are coated with a chemical that appears to promote successful fertilization.)

Our brand-new slideshow highlights these and other species from the Heart of Borneo. To learn still more about the project, check out this edited e-mail exchange with Christopher Greenwood, the WWF initiative's international communications manager:

Cosmic Log: It sounds as if the Borneo initiative is a success story for species preservation. How does this compare with other projects to set aside areas for protection? What activities had to be curtailed? Have there been difficulties in enforcing the protected status, or was the region so remote that it was more a question of guaranteeing preservation from potential future activities?
Greenwood: The Heart of Borneo Initiative may be a success story in the making for preservation, but this is actually only one of its objectives. The value of the Heart of Borneo approach is that it recognizes the need to balance conservation and sustainable development to ensure a secure future for biodiversity, habitat conservation and indigenous livelihoods as well as meeting the ever-present government requirements for development. 
There are continuing difficulties in enforcing the protected status. It must be remembered that the Heart of Borneo is not a national park. It is a mosaic of protected areas, wildlife corridors and sustainable land-use areas.
There are many challenges in adequately enforcing protection: illegal logging, forest fires, conversion to agriculture/palm oil, wildlife trade and mining are among the most difficult challenges faced. The 2007 declaration was in some respects a line in the sand from which all three governments acknowledged the need to begin to address these challenges.
Overcoming these challenges will require new ways of doing and thinking about business in the Heart of Borneo, both in existing sectors such as palm oil as well emerging sectors such as carbon trading. Rather than conventional stereotyping of traditional environmental foes, we see an alternative future where industry provides both economic development and conservation outcomes. Likewise, international market-based mechanisms such as reduced emissions from deforestation (REDD) and payments for ecosystem services (PES) need to be realized and implemented. That is, forests need to be worth more standing than clear-cut.
This is why the launching of this report by the Bruneian minister, on Earth Day, at the fourth trilateral meeting is significant – because it is at these events that the three governments come together to further the objectives of the declaration.
Q: How does Borneo compare as a reservoir of biodiversity, and what is it that makes the area a "hothouse" for exotic species?
A: Well, the quote is Charles Darwin’s - but if we were to interpret him in the context of the Heart of Borneo, it would refer to the fact that the area is such a breeding ground for an incredibly diverse range of plant and animal species.
If you look back over the past 15 years, you'll see that there have been more than 500 species discovered in the Heart of Borneo - which is nearly three species a month. As the press release indicates, these are in addition to the 'charismatic megafauna' - for example, the pygmy elephant and orangutan which are found in only one other place in the world.
Q: How are the scientific expeditions to Borneo organized? What sorts of challenges do scientists have to put up with to visit and study these regions?
A: The areas are remote, requiring weeks of travel in hot, leech-invested, malaria-prone eco-tourism hotspots.  That last bit was a joke - though there is no doubt about the eco-tourism potential of the area. That leads us back to the idea of sustainable development. If we can preserve these areas and at the same time generate income for local communities, private enterprise and the government, then there is a chance we generate a mechanism which by default preserves these areas in perpetuity.
Q: Any lessons learned from the project, either in terms of conservation management or scientific insights?
A: The huge lesson is obviously that the more we look, the more we find. If the Heart of Borneo approach is not a success, we risk losing countless undiscovered treasures, which may reveal a host of medical and related solutions to problems we have not yet encountered – as described in the WWF report on biodiscoveries.
Secondly, there are constant challenges, such as the palm oil plantation threat and road development. That is why it is so important to continue to demonstrate the uniqueness of this region and its global significance.