NASA's Swift Sees 'Dual Personality' Burst

These animations illustrate two wildly different explanations for GRB 101225A, better known as the "Christmas burst." First, a solitary neutron star in our own galaxy shreds and accretes an approaching comet-like body. In the second, a neutron star is engulfed by, spirals into and merges with an evolved giant star in a distant galaxy. 

Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

 

Contacts and sources:
 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center