Scientists at the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Moscow State University, have detected a gamma-ray quantum with an energy of 300 TeV from the extremely bright gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A. This event, which occurred on October 9, 2022, originated from a galaxy over two billion light-years away against the backdrop of a supernova explosion.
The detection was made possible by the Kover-3 detector array, a unique ground-based installation that records particles produced when gamma rays collide with the atmosphere. GRB 221009A was an exceptionally powerful burst, affecting Earth's atmosphere despite its distance of approximately 2.4 billion light-years. Some have called it the BOAT, or Brightest Of All Time.
This observation allows scientists to refine physical theories related to high energies and gain deeper insights into cosmic processes. The burst's afterglow was the brightest ever recorded, and it had the largest amount of energy ever recorded in the TeV range, with the most energetic photons ever recorded for a GRB, peaking at 18 TeV.