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Gamma-ray bursts: are we safe?

17 September 2003

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This artist's impression illustrates how a gamma-ray burst can flare dramatically over a short time period. Gamma-ray bursts can occur as often as several time a day but they last for no longer than a couple of minutes. There is no way to predict when or where they will next occur. ESA missions such as XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL and Ulysses study these mysterious, powerful bursts. Copyright: ESA 2002. Illustration by Medialab

Credits: Copyright: ESA 2002. Illustration by Medialab

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Detecting the Universe's hot spots.

Credits: ESA. Illustration by Ducros

Link between GRBs and exploding stars

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Months after a gamma-ray burst, the afterglow fades away

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Image of the field around the gamma-ray burst (971214), obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope about four months after the burst, well after the afterglow has faded away. The extremely faint and distant galaxy (marked with an arrow) is the host galaxy of the gamma-ray burst. It was discovered earlier using the Keck 10-metre telescope.

Credits: S. G. Djorgovski and S. R. Kulkarni (Caltech), the Caltech GRB Team,and W. M. Keck Observatory

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