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Article
Huge explosion in the early Universe
The γ-ray burst GRB 050904, detected by the Swift satellite on 4 September last year, is one of the most distant objects ever observed. Its redshift of z = 6.3 equates to an explosion taking place 12.8 billion ye...
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Article
An origin for short γ-ray bursts unassociated with current star formation
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are either ‘long and soft’, or ‘short and hard’. It is now clear that the long-duration type are caused by explosions of massive stars in distant star-forming galaxies. Only in recent m...
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Article
A short γ-ray burst apparently associated with an elliptical galaxy at redshift z = 0.225
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are either ‘long and soft’, or ‘short and hard’. The long-duration type leave a strong afterglow and have been extensively studied. So we have a good idea of what causes them: explosion...
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Article
An unexpectedly rapid decline in the X-ray afterglow emission of long γ-ray bursts
The Swift satellite, launched in November last year, is designed to study γ-ray bursts (GRBs) as soon as they happen. GRBs are the most powerful explosions known in the Universe, and Swift's ability to study t...