Last year, Earth experienced the brightest flash of light ever seen in the night sky, caused by a powerful blast of gamma rays from a distant cosmic explosion. Known as the “BOAT” or Brightest Of All Time, the flash lasted for seven minutes and its afterglow was visible for seven hours. It activated lightning detectors in India and affected long wave radio communications in the upper ionosphere. Surprisingly, this gamma-ray burst also impacted the lower ionosphere, marking the first observation of its kind. Researchers believe that studying these bursts will help understand potential threats they may pose in the future, including the possibility of endangering Earth’s ozone layer and causing mass extinction events. The origin of the burst, GRB 221009A, is believed to be either a dying star exploding into a supernova or the birth of a black hole.
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-brightest-disturbed-earth-atmosphere-year.html