Home Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
gamma-ray burst
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Quizzes
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Related Questions
Read Next
Planet Earth and lunar moon from space
Where Did the Moon Come From?
solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space
How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?
Arrangement of the phases of the moon in total eclipse with Blood Moon
9 Celestial Omens
Spiral Galaxy type Sa-Sb or Sa/Sb in the constellation Virgo. The majestic Sombrero Galaxy Messier 104 (M104) or NGC 4594. The team took six pictures of the galaxy, stitched them together to create the final composite image. Photo from May-June 2003
9 Britannica Articles That Explain the Meaning of Life
1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.
6 Questions About the Sun Answered
Discover
Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator
The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates
Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket
Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.
What Is an Aftershock?
earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
Solar eclipse of the sun.
The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses
Black widow spider
9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders
Science & Tech

gamma-ray burst

astronomy
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://64.176.36.150/science/gamma-ray-burst
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Print
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://64.176.36.150/science/gamma-ray-burst
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Also known as: GRB
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History
Category: Science & Tech
Related Topics:
universe
See all related content →

gamma-ray burst, an intense, nonrepeating flash of high-energy gamma rays that appears unpredictably at arbitrary points in the sky at a rate of about one per day and typically last only seconds. First discovered in the 1960s, these powerfully luminous events long remained completely mysterious, since there seemed no evidence of their sources at visible or radio wavelengths. Such evidence was first found in 1997, and the sources are now known to be among the most distant objects in the universe. The objects are thought to be collapsing hypergiant stars or, perhaps in some cases, merging neutron stars. There also exists a small group of much weaker, repeating bursts, which are identified with more local objects.

John Donald Fernie