Gamma Ray Bursts
Amateur Astronomer Catches Record Setting Gamma-Ray Burst
Vigilance and a little luck paid off recently for an amateur astronomer. On April 27th, 2013 a long lasting gamma-ray…
Bright, Long-Lasting GRB Sets Energy Output Record
Last weekend (April 27, 2013), the Fermi and Swift spacecraft witnessed a “shockingly” bright burst of gamma rays from a…
New Kind of Gamma Ray Burst is Ultra Long-Lasting
According to astronomer Andrew Levan, there’s an old adage in studying gamma ray bursts: “When you’ve seen one gamma ray…
Extreme Telescopes: Unique Observatories Around the World
In 1888, astronomer Simon Newcomb uttered now infamous words, stating that “We are probably nearing the limit of all we…
Pulsar Jackpot Scours Old Data for New Discoveries
Chalk another one up for Citizen Science. Earlier this month, researchers announced the discovery of 24 new pulsars. To date,…
Supernovae Seed Universe With Cosmic Rays
In a wave of media releases, the latest studies performed by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope are lighting up the…
X-ray Burst May Be the First Sign of a Supernova
GRB 080913, a distant supernova detected by Swift. This image merges the view through Swift's UltraViolet and Optical Telescope, which…
Integral: Ten Years Tracking Extreme Radiation Across the Universe
Caption: Artist's impression of ESA's orbiting gamma-ray observatory Integral. Image credit: ESA Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory launched ten…
Work Begins on the World’s Largest Cosmic Ray Observatory
Caption: Lake Baikal. Credit: SeaWiFS Project NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and ORBIMAGE Construction has just begun at the Tunka Valley…
A Star’s Dying Scream May Be a Beacon for Physics
When a star suffered an untimely demise at the hands of a hidden black hole, astronomers detected its doleful, ululating…