In the framework of a collaboration between international telescopes, a post-glow - or optical analogue - of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) was detected by the MOSS6 telescope of the Oukaimeden Observatory of Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech.

Professor Zuhair bin Khaldoun, director of the Oukaimeden Observatory of the Cadi Ayyad Mosque in Marrakesh, told Al Jazeera Net via e-mail;

"Our discovery relates to the observation of the afterglow, or the optical analogue of a gamma-ray burst, and with this new achievement Oukaimeden has once again demonstrated its efficacy and ability to keep pace with research programs in both observational astronomy and basic astrophysics."

The Oukaimeden Observatory was a partner in this discovery with several observatories of the US Space Agency (NASA), the European Space Agency, the South Korean Space Agency and the telescopes of the Moroccan Society of Astronomy on May 14th.

How does a gamma ray burst happen?

In order to find out how a gamma ray burst occurs, Zuhair bin Khaldoun said, "There are interactions in the universe that produce huge energies, and we can mention, for example, the merging of two neutron stars to give a black hole, or a star explosion that we call "supernova". These events produce high-energy gamma radiation. It is a phenomenon that disappears after a few hours, so it is important to be able to quickly observe the timing of this phenomenon in different wave oscillations."

And the director of the Oukaimeden Observatory adds, "This observation allowed us to determine the location of this phenomenon in the universe and measure its optical size, and all research related to this discovery was funded by the University of Paris Sacley and the Nice Observatory in France."

According to the press release issued by the Oukaimeden Observatory (unpublished and a copy of which was obtained by Al-Jazeera Net correspondent), the observation was made at 8 am after the alert was sent in conjunction with a NASA space telescope and a satellite belonging to the European Space Agency, both of which are dedicated to detecting gamma explosions.

The phenomenon of the explosion occurs through the merger of two neutron stars to give a black hole or a "supernova" explosion (Al-Jazeera)

Collective work of scientists and hobbyists

Zuhair bin Khaldoun says, "We joined the consortium of the "Advanced Global Rapid Multimedia Network", which consists of a network of telescopes around the world, about 6 months ago, and we were able to participate in the current measurement campaign last April, and since then we have been monitoring using 3 from our telescopes every time an alert is issued."

According to the Oukaimeden observatory statement, these explosions, when they are located at a great distance, can come from processes including neutron stars, black holes, supernovae, or even astrophysical phenomena that are not known until now.

The Moroccan Astronomical Society, through the "High Atlas Observatory" at the Oukaimeden Observatory, participated in this important discovery, and also participated in signing the press release that was published after this discovery.

The phenomenon of gamma ray burst was observed by several telescopes around the world 6 months ago (Al-Jazeera)

"In addition to the discoveries made by the Oukaimeden observatory, the gamma-burst monitoring program has once again established the cooperation between professionals and amateurs in Morocco, known for short as 'professionals-amateur' in this field," says Zuhair Ben Khaldoun.

To determine the extent of cooperation between professionals and amateurs in reaching this discovery, the director of the Oukaimeden Observatory confirms that "the observatory is a pioneer in cooperation between amateurs and professionals in the African continent and the Middle East, and two of the telescopes that participated in observing this phenomenon belong to amateurs from the Moroccan Society of Astronomy."

Zuhair bin Khaldoun ends his conversation with Al Jazeera Net by saying, "We are in the process of collecting and analyzing various data about the phenomenon of gamma ray bursts so that we can understand what happened."