# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DFVhu7BMPlt
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582232-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/0a45e45d56.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-01-27T16:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

What if the Universe has just revealed one of its deepest secrets? 💥

In less than three months since its launch, Einstein Probe has made a discovery that could change our understanding of the most powerful explosions in the cosmos. On 15 March 2024, its Wide-field X-ray Telescope detected a mysterious burst of X-rays—an event that could rewrite our knowledge of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most powerful explosions in the Universe.

This event, named EP240315a, lasted over 17 minutes, fluctuating in brightness before fading away. What makes it even more extraordinary is its origin: 12.5 billion light-years away! The light from this ancient explosion began its journey to Earth when the Universe was just 10% of its current age.

Follow-up observations from telescopes in South Africa, Hawaii, and Chile confirmed its immense distance and linked it to a GRB known as GRB 240315C. But there’s a twist—this X-ray burst arrived 372 seconds before the gamma rays. Such a long delay has never been observed before, challenging existing theories of how GRBs explode.

Thanks to the spacecraft’s unprecedented sensitivity and wide field of view, Einstein Probe has opened a new era of exploring cosmic explosions from the early Universe, allowing astronomers to detect soft X-rays like never before.

Einstein Probe is a collaborative mission involving us, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,the maxplanckgesellschaft for Extraterrestrial Physics, and France’s cnes_france. Launched on 9 January 2024, it is equipped with two cutting-edge telescopes: the Wide-field X-ray Telescope, which constantly monitors the sky for unexpected X-rays, and the Follow-up X-ray Telescope, which focuses on specific sources for detailed analysis.

The discovery of EP240315a not only highlights the mission’s incredible potential but also raises thrilling new questions about the Universe’s most ancient and powerful explosions. What other mysteries will Einstein Probe uncover?

📸 Liu et al. 2025
🖥️ OPENVERSE/Einstein Probe Science Centre

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

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