The Collapsar Model

The Collapsar Model describes how some massive stars end their lives by collapsing into black holes, producing long-duration gamma-ray bursts. When a star much larger than our Sun exhausts its fuel, its core collapses under gravity, forming a black hole. Surrounding material falls into the black hole, creating intense jets of energy that shoot out along the star's poles. As these jets punch through the star's outer layers, they release a burst of gamma rays—the most energetic form of light—observed as a gamma-ray burst. This process explains how massive stars can produce extremely energetic explosions in the universe.