China's "Tianguan" satellite (Einstein probe satellite) observed a gamma ray burst EP240315a generated about 12.5 billion light years away, which is the first soft X-ray signal detected by humans in the early universe. This will open a new window for research related to the early universe. The related research paper was published online on the 23rd in the international academic journal Nature Astronomy. It is reported that there will be a large number of violent explosive phenomena in the universe, which often appear randomly and disappear quickly, like fleeting cosmic "fireworks". Observing these cosmic fireworks is of great significance for conducting research on cutting-edge issues such as black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmic evolution. Gamma ray bursts are one of the most violent explosive phenomena in the universe, typically produced by the explosion of massive stars Liu Yuan, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that on March 15, 2024, the "Tianguan" satellite captured the weak pulse signal of EP240315a in the soft X-ray band. The brightness of EP240315a fluctuates rapidly and gradually disappears after more than 17 minutes. Subsequently, multiple astronomical telescopes around the world have successively observed EP240315a. The research results indicate that EP240315a originated in the distant early universe, when the age of the universe was only 10% of what it is now. The signal from EP240315a took 12.5 billion years to reach Earth. Compared to other gamma ray bursts, EP240315a is quite unique Wu Xuefeng, one of the correspondence authors of the paper and a researcher at the Zijinshan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that, for example, the X-ray brightness of EP240315a was relatively dark at the peak of the explosion, and the time interval between the X-ray and gamma rays of EP240315a was far longer than that of other gamma storms. These characteristics will prompt the scientific community to re-examine and think about the generation mechanism of gamma storms. Many experts at home and abroad have stated that the observation results of the "Tianguan" satellite on EP240315a have enriched human understanding of early gamma ray bursts in the universe and provided a new perspective and research direction for exploring the mysteries of the origin and evolution of the universe. (New Society)