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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →A short gamma-ray burst detected on July 4, 2025, was followed almost immediately by soft X-rays that Einstein Probe recorded for about 560 seconds. The gamma-ray burst, GRB 250704B, lasted about 0.4 seconds; the longer signal was a separate, lower-energy X-ray component—not a gamma-ray burst that kept going for 10 minutes.
What happened after the gamma-ray burst?
The event is known as EP250704a in X-rays and GRB 250704B in gamma rays. At 08:16:27.10 UTC on July 4, 2025, the burst triggered gamma-ray observations. Its measured T90—the interval containing 90% of the detected gamma-ray fluence—was 0.37 ± 0.06 seconds. About 0.2 seconds after the trigger, Einstein Probe’s wide-field X-ray telescope began detecting a multi-episode transient in the 0.5–4 keV soft X-ray band. That X-ray activity lasted roughly 560 seconds, or about nine minutes. The study by An Li and collaborators, published in Science Bulletin in 2026, reports the observation.
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The distinction is energy as well as duration: a brief flash of high-energy gamma rays was followed by minutes of lower-energy X-rays. NASA’s gamma-ray burst glossary describes afterglow as lower-energy radiation, including X-rays, that can follow the initial burst. In this case, the study argues that the X-ray signal’s variability and spectrum do not match the usual picture of a standard afterglow alone; the authors interpret it as a distinct phase of prompt X-ray emission.
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The observation establishes that the two signals had very different durations; it does not by itself prove the physical mechanism behind them. Li and colleagues argue that the extended, changing X-ray emission points to a central engine that remained active after a compact-object merger. Their interpretation draws on the signal’s spectral shape and variability, along with multiwavelength afterglow observations and stringent limits on an associated supernova.
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A magnetar is one possible explanation, not a confirmed result
One proposed scenario is that the merger left behind a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized neutron star—a magnetar—which continued injecting energy and powered the X-rays. That is a plausible explanation offered in research coverage, not an established identification of the remnant. The evidence supports prolonged central-engine activity more strongly than it singles out one exact remnant or mechanism.
How was the prolonged signal detected?
Einstein Probe’s wide-field X-ray telescope captured the soft X-ray component. SVOM/GRM, Insight-HXMT and Konus-Wind independently detected the short gamma-ray burst. The authors say the extended soft X-rays would not have been detected without coverage at those lower energies. This is why an event that initially resembled a brief, ordinary short burst became notable: instruments focused on its hard, fleeting flash could miss what followed.
The result raises the possibility that extended soft X-ray activity may be common in merger-driven bursts, but it is not a measurement of how often confirmed prompt soft X-ray flashes occur. Earlier instruments may simply have lacked the right coverage to detect such emission. The paper’s background discussion of long-lasting engine-driven X-rays in a portion of short bursts should not be read as a prevalence estimate for this specific kind of prompt soft X-ray signal.
Does this mean gravitational waves were detected?
No gravitational-wave detection from this particular event is reported in the study. The authors connect the burst to a compact-object merger using its electromagnetic observations; they describe this kind of event as a promising counterpart class for future gravitational-wave observations. It is a clue about what astronomers may be able to identify alongside gravitational-wave signals, not evidence that gravitational waves were recorded from GRB 250704B.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the observation matters
The key finding is a sharp contrast: a gamma-ray burst lasting less than half a second was followed almost at once by soft X-ray episodes lasting about 560 seconds. Because the longer component is both softer and distinct in its observed behavior, it broadens the picture of what can follow a compact-object merger—and shows why wide-field observations in multiple energy bands matter.
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