Scientists may be one step closer to discovering how gamma-ray bursts became some of the most powerful explosions in the known universe. For context, a single gamma-ray burst, or GRB, can produce more energy in seconds than the sun will radiate in billions of years. Because of this power, scientists suggest that GRBs are created… Read More »
When distant stars explode, they emit flashes of energy called gamma-ray bursts that are bright enough for telescopes on Earth to detect them. Studying these pulses, which can also come from the merger of some exotic astronomical objects such as black holes and neutron stars, can help astronomers like me understand the history of the… Read More »
NASA has officially halted scientific observations conducted by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Do not worry. The space telescope, which observes some of the most powerful bursts of radiation from the universe’s most violent cosmic events, known as “gamma-ray bursts,” is only temporarily out of service. NASA put Swift into safe mode on March 15… Read More »