This gamma-ray burst, researchers said on Tuesday, caused a significant disturbance in Earth's ionosphere, a layer of the planet's upper atmosphere that contains electrically charged gases called plasma. It helps form the boundary between the vacuum of space and the lower atmosphere inhabited by people and Earth's other denizens. The gamma rays from the burst impacted Earth's atmosphere for a span of about 13 minutes on Oct. 9, 2022. Instruments on Earth showed that the gamma rays disturbed the ionosphere for several hours and even set off lightning detectors in India. The effects of this gamma-ray burst were studied with the help of the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES), also called Zhangheng, a Chinese-Italian mission launched in 2018.

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Persons: Mirko Piersanti, Piersanti, Pietro Ubertini, Ubertini, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Acquire, Rights, Ray Astrophysics, University of L'Aquila, Nature Communications, National Institute for Astrophysics, Thomson Locations: Italy, India, China