{"id":475747,"date":"2023-06-01T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?post_type=migration&p=475747"},"modified":"2024-02-05T10:54:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T15:54:06","slug":"nasa-looks-back-at-50-years-of-gamma-ray-burst-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasa-looks-back-at-50-years-of-gamma-ray-burst-science\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Looks Back at 50 Years of Gamma-Ray Burst Science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Fifty years ago, on June 1, 1973, astronomers around the world were introduced to a powerful and perplexing new phenomenon called GRBs (gamma-ray bursts). Today sensors on orbiting satellites like NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/swift\/main\" rel=\"noopener\">Swift<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/fermi-gamma-ray-space-telescope\" rel=\"noopener\">Fermi<\/a> missions detect a GRB somewhere in the sky about once a day on average. Astronomers think the bursts arise from catastrophic occurrences involving stars in distant galaxies, events thought to produce new black holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA's Guide to Visiting a Gamma-Ray Burst\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rktZWV1h24E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Watch: Our Traveler unwisely decides to visit a gamma-ray burst for their next vacation and learns the basics of these extraordinary blasts. Credit: NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI can still remember the excitement when gamma-ray bursts were discovered,\u201d said Charles Meegan, a research scientist at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uah.edu\/\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Alabama, Huntsville<\/a>, who helped develop GRB detectors on NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/missions\/cgro\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Compton<\/a> and Fermi satellites. \u201cI was a graduate student then, unaware that the study of these strange events would be my career for the next 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1849\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?w=1849\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg 1950w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=271,300 271w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=768,851 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=924,1024 924w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=1387,1536 1387w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=1849,2048 1849w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=361,400 361w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=542,600 542w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=813,900 813w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=1083,1200 1083w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?resize=1806,2000 1806w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1849px) 100vw, 1849px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">The Hubble Space Telescope\u2019s Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of the BOAT GRB and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending from the afterglow’s upper left. The burst occurred about 2 billion light-years away.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (Radboud University); Image Processing: Gladys Kober<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Far-Flung Flare-Ups<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With GRBs, just about everything is extreme. They occur so far beyond our galaxy that even the closest-known burst exploded more than 100 million light-years away. Each burst produces an initial pulse of gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light, that typically lasts from milliseconds to minutes. This emission comes from a jet of particles moving close to the speed of light launched in our direction, and the closer we are to looking straight down the barrel, the brighter it appears. Following this prompt emission is a fading afterglow of gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and radio light that astronomers may be able to track for hours to months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even half a century on, GRBs offer up surprises. One recent burst was so bright it temporarily blinded most of the gamma-ray detectors in space. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2023\/nasa-missions-study-what-may-be-a-1-in-10000-year-gamma-ray-burst\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Nicknamed the BOAT<\/a> (for brightest of all time), the 7-minute blast may have been the brightest GRB in the past 10,000 years. It also showed that scientists\u2019 most promising models of these events are nowhere near complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nuke Watchers<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GRB story begins in October 1963, when a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/milestone-documents\/test-ban-treaty\" rel=\"noopener\">treaty<\/a> signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union prohibiting the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, under water, or in space went into effect. To ensure compliance, the U.S. Air Force had been managing an unclassified research and development effort to detect nuclear tests from space. A week after the treaty went into effect, the first two of these satellites, called Vela (from the Spanish \u201cto watch\u201d), began their work.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1201\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?w=1500\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=300,240 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=768,615 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=1024,820 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=400,320 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=600,480 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=900,721 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/vela-5b-in-space.jpg?resize=1200,961 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Artist\u2019s rendering of Vela 5B in orbit around Earth.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Launched in pairs, the Vela satellites carried detectors designed to sense the initial flash of X-rays and gamma rays from nuclear explosions. Sometimes they triggered on events that clearly were not nuclear tests, and scientists collected and studied these observations. With improved instruments on the four Vela 5 and 6 satellites, Ray Klebesadel at<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lanl.gov\" rel=\"noopener\"> Los Alamos National Laboratory<\/a> in New Mexico, together with his colleagues Ian Strong and Roy Olsen, determined directions to 16 confirmed gamma-ray events well enough to rule out Earth and the Sun as sources. They published a <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.adsabs.harvard.edu\/full\/1973ApJ...182L..85K\" rel=\"noopener\">paper announcing the discovery<\/a> in The Astrophysical Journal on June 1, 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using a detector aboard the <a href=\"https:\/\/heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov\/docs\/heasarc\/missions\/imp6.html\" rel=\"noopener\">IMP 6 satellite<\/a> intended to study solar flares, Tom Cline and Upendra Desai at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland, <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.adsabs.harvard.edu\/pdf\/1973ApJ...185L...1C\" rel=\"noopener\">quickly confirmed<\/a> the Vela findings.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1957\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Compton observatory drifting away from space shuttle following deployment in April 1991\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=300,287 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=768,734 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=1024,978 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=1536,1467 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=2048,1957 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=400,382 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=600,573 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=900,860 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=1200,1146 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/compton_flies_free_s37-96-009_0.jpg?resize=2000,1911 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">NASA\u2019s Compton Gamma Ray Observatory drifts away from the space shuttle Atlantis on April 7, 1991, following its deployment during the STS-37 mission. Compton\u2019s successful career ended in June 2000 when the observatory re-entered Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA\/Ken Cameron<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Breakthroughs: BATSE & BeppoSAX<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While theorists <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/pdf\/astro-ph\/9402012.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">proposed 100 models<\/a> in an effort to explain GRBs \u2013 most involving neutron stars in our own galaxy \u2013 observational progress was slow despite the growing number of detections by different spacecraft. Gamma rays can\u2019t be focused like visible light or X-rays, making precise localizations quite difficult. Without them, it was impossible to search for GRB counterparts in other wavelengths using larger telescopes in space or on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1991, NASA launched the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2016\/nasa-celebrates-25-years-of-breakthrough-gamma-ray-science\" rel=\"noopener\">Compton Gamma Ray Observatory<\/a>, which included an instrument named BATSE (Burst and Transient Science Experiment) dedicated to exploring GRBs. Developed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/marshall\/home\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center<\/a> in Huntsville, Alabama, by a team that included Meegan, BATSE was about 10 times more sensitive than previous GRB detectors. Over Compton\u2019s nine-year mission, BATSE detected 2,704 bursts, which gave astronomers a rich set of observations made with the same instrument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its first year, BATSE data <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/355143a0\" rel=\"noopener\">showed that bursts were distributed all over the sky<\/a> instead of in a pattern that reflected the structure of our Milky Way galaxy. \u201cThis suggested that they were coming from distant galaxies, and that meant they were more energetic than most scientists thought possible,\u201d Meegan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around the same time, Chryssa Kouveliotou, another member of the BATSE team, led an effort to classify the bursts. The team found that <a href=\"https:\/\/articles.adsabs.harvard.edu\/full\/1993ApJ...413L.101K\" rel=\"noopener\">burst durations clustered into two broad groups<\/a> \u2013 one lasting less than two seconds, the other lasting longer than two seconds \u2013 and that short bursts produced higher-energy gamma rays than long ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo both temporal and spectral properties agreed in identifying two separate groups of GRBs: short and long,\u201d said Kouveliotou, who now chairs the department of physics at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gwu.edu\/\" rel=\"noopener\">George Washington University<\/a>. \u201cSoon after, theorists associated long GRBs with the collapse of massive stars and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/topics\/universe\/features\/gamma-ray-engines.html\" rel=\"noopener\">short ones with binary neutron star mergers<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next step in understanding came with watershed observations from the Italian-Dutch satellite <a href=\"https:\/\/heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov\/docs\/sax\/sax.html\" rel=\"noopener\">BeppoSAX<\/a>. Although not specifically designed as a GRB mission, its mix of instruments \u2013 including a gamma-ray monitor and two wide-field X-ray cameras \u2013 proved a boon to the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a burst occurred in the field of view of one of the X-ray cameras, the spacecraft could locate it well enough over a couple of hours that additional instruments could be brought to bear. Whenever BeppoSAX turned to a GRB\u2019s position, its instruments found a rapidly fading and previously unknown high-energy source \u2013 the X-ray afterglow theorists had predicted. These positions enabled large ground-based observatories to discover long GRB afterglows in visible light and radio waves, and also permitted the first distance measurements, confirming that GRBs were truly far-away events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Need for Speed<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2000, NASA launched <a href=\"https:\/\/heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov\/docs\/hete2\/hete2.html\" rel=\"noopener\">HETE 2<\/a>, a small satellite designed to detect and localize GRBs. It was the first mission to compute accurate positions onboard and quickly \u2013 in tens of seconds \u2013 communicate them to the ground so other observatories could study early afterglow phases. The burst it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eso.org\/public\/news\/eso0318\/\" rel=\"noopener\">discovered on March 29, 2003,<\/a> also exhibited definitive supernova characteristics, confirming a suspected relationship between the two phenomena.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?w=1920\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Against the blackness of space, a boxy, metallic spacecraft dominates the frame. Two "wings" of solar panels stick out from its sides. Below is the bright, cloudy limb of Earth.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/swift-view-01-comp-small.png?resize=1200,675 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Artist’s concept of NASA’s Swift satellite at work.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Chris Smith (KBRwyle)<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>What took BeppoSAX a couple of hours, NASA\u2019s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, launched in 2004, can do in about a minute. \u201cWe named it Swift for a reason,\u201d said Goddard\u2019s S. Bradley Cenko, the mission\u2019s current principal investigator. \u201cIts rapid, automated response allowed us to detect flares and other features in X-ray afterglows not previously seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following up on GRBs detected by these missions confirmed that long bursts were associated with the star-forming regions of galaxies and were often accompanied by supernovae. In May 2005, Swift was able to <a href=\"https:\/\/swift.gsfc.nasa.gov\/news\/2005\/05-334.html\" rel=\"noopener\">pinpoint the first afterglow of a short GRB<\/a>, showing that these blasts occur in regions with little star formation. This bolstered the model of short bursts as mergers of neutron stars, which can travel far from their birth place over the many millions of years it takes for them to crash together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2008, NASA\u2019s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope joined Swift in hunting GRBs and has observed about 3,500 to date. Its GBM (Gamma-ray Burst Monitor) and Large Area Telescope allow the detection and follow-up of bursts from X-rays to the highest-energy gamma rays detected in space \u2013 an energy span of 100 million times. This has enabled the discovery of afterglow gamma rays with billions of times the energy of visible light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Next Revolution<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2017, Fermi and the European <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Space_Science\/Integral\" rel=\"noopener\">INTEGRAL satellite <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-missions-catch-first-light-from-a-gravitational-wave-event\" rel=\"noopener\">linked a short GRB to a source of gravitational waves<\/a>, ripples in space-time produced as orbiting neutron stars spiraled inward and merged. This was an important first that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-missions-catch-first-light-from-a-gravitational-wave-event\" rel=\"noopener\">connected two different cosmic \u201cmessengers,\u201d gravity and light.<\/a> While astronomers haven\u2019t seen another \u201cgravity and light\u201d burst since, they hope more will turn up in current and future observing runs of gravitational wave observatories.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg 3840w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=1024,576 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=2048,1152 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=900,506 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/neutron-star-merger-still-2-new.jpg?resize=2000,1125 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">In this artist’s concept, pale concentric arcs illustrate gravitational waves produced as orbiting neutron stars merged. The event also formed near-light-speed particle jets that emitted gamma rays. In 2017, both signals were detected from the same source for the first time.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center\/CI Lab<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re building new satellites with greater sensitivity to delve more deeply into this phenomenon, so the future of GRB science is bright,\u201d said Marshall\u2019s Dan Kocevski, a member of the Fermi GBM team and the principal investigator for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/nasa-selects-4-concepts-for-small-missions-to-study-universe-s-secrets\" rel=\"noopener\">StarBurst<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/smallsats\" rel=\"noopener\">small satellite<\/a> designed to explore GRBs from neutron star mergers. Other missions include Glowbug, part of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ssc.spaceforce.mil\/Portals\/3\/Documents\/PRESS%20RELEASES\/Space%20Systems%20Command%20and%20DoD%20STP-H9%20successfully%20launched%20eight%20experimental%20payloads%20to%20NASA%E2%80%99s%20ISS.pdf?ver=Irvq2PLxP2zDaCdluyT8nQ%3D%3D\" rel=\"noopener\">experiment package<\/a> launched to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/station\/main\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener\">International Space Station<\/a> in March and led by J. Eric Grove at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington; <a href=\"https:\/\/smallsat.wff.nasa.gov\/missions\/burstcube.php\" rel=\"noopener\">BurstCube<\/a>, led by Goddard\u2019s Jeremy Perkins and slated for launch in early 2024; <a href=\"https:\/\/pcos.gsfc.nasa.gov\/physpag\/meetings\/AAS_Jan2020\/grsig\/MoonBEAM-AAS2020GammaSIG.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">MoonBEAM<\/a>, which would orbit between Earth and the Moon and is led by Marshall\u2019s Chiumun Michelle Hui; and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-selects-proposals-to-study-stellar-explosions-galaxies-stars\" rel=\"noopener\">LEAP<\/a>, designed to study GRB jets from the space station, led by Mark McConnell at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unh.edu\/\" rel=\"noopener\">University of New Hampshire, Durham<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as gravitational and gamma-ray facilities both improve their reach, a new chapter of the GRB story will open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat will completely revolutionize our understanding of GRBs,\u201d said Alessandra Corsi, an associate professor at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ttu.edu\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas Tech University<\/a> in Lubbock, \u201cwill be the ability to track them back to when the universe was most intensely forming stars, around 10 billion years ago. This part of the universe will be probed by the next generation of gravitational wave detectors \u2013 10 times more sensitive than what we currently have \u2013 and by future gamma-ray missions that can ensure continuity with the fantastic science Swift and Fermi have enabled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>By <\/strong><\/em><a href=\"mailto:francis.j.reddy@nasa.gov\"><em><strong>Francis Reddy<\/strong><\/em><\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Media Contact:<\/strong><\/em><br><a href=\"mailto:claire.andreoli@nasa.gov\"><em><strong>Claire Andreoli<\/strong><\/em><\/a><br><strong><em><em>NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.<\/em><br><em>(301) 286-1940<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"nasa-gb-align-full width-full maxw-full padding-x-3 padding-y-0 article_a hds-module hds-module-full wp-block-nasa-blocks-credits-and-details\">\n<section class=\"padding-x-0 padding-top-5 padding-bottom-2 desktop:padding-top-7 desktop:padding-bottom-9\">\n\t<div class=\"grid-row grid-container maxw-widescreen padding-0\">\n\t\t<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-2 padding-right-4 margin-bottom-5 desktop:margin-bottom-0\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-top-3 border-top-1px border-color-carbon-black\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"margin-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"heading-14\">Share<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"padding-bottom-2\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"social-icons social-icons-round\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"social-icon social-icon-x\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/intent\/tweet?via=NASA&text=NASA%20Looks%20Back%20at%2050%20Years%20of%20Gamma-Ray%20Burst%20Science&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Funiverse%2Fnasa-looks-back-at-50-years-of-gamma-ray-burst-science%2F\" aria-label=\"Share on X.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"1200\" 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border-color-carbon-black \"><div class=\"margin-bottom-2\"><h2 class=\"heading-14\">Related Terms<\/h2><\/div><ul class=\"article-tags\"><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/astrophysics\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Astrophysics<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/cgro\" rel=\"noopener\">Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO)<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/fermi\" rel=\"noopener\">Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/ems\/12_gammarays\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Gamma Rays<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/science-research\/astrophysics\/gamma-ray-bursts\/\">Gamma-Ray Bursts<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\/\">Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/integral\" rel=\"noopener\">International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL)<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/international-space-station\/\">International Space Station (ISS)<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/marshall-space-flight-center\/\">Marshall Space Flight Center<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/swift\" rel=\"noopener\">Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Science & Research<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/universe\/stars\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Stars<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/stars\/supernovae\/\">Supernovae<\/a><\/li><li class=\"article-tag\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/universe\/\" rel=\"noopener\">The Universe<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fifty years ago, on June 1, 1973, astronomers around the world were introduced to a powerful and perplexing new phenomenon called GRBs (gamma-ray bursts). Today sensors on orbiting satellites like NASA\u2019s Swift and Fermi missions detect a GRB somewhere in the sky about once a day on average. Astronomers think the bursts arise from catastrophic [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":262,"featured_media":488820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2836,12018,2704,9476,12213,2857,12066,2735,2864,10683,2662,2815,11336,2659],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[4215,3964,3913,3919,10596,4039,4212],"coauthors":[10811],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA Looks Back at 50 Years of Gamma-Ray Burst Science","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasa-looks-back-at-50-years-of-gamma-ray-burst-science\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasa-looks-back-at-50-years-of-gamma-ray-burst-science\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg"},"articleSection":"Science & Research","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Francis Reddy"}],"creator":["Francis Reddy"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["The Universe","Astrophysics","Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO)","Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope","Gamma Rays","Gamma-Ray Bursts","Goddard Space Flight Center","International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL)","International Space Station (ISS)","Marshall Space Flight Center","Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory","Science & Research","Stars","Supernovae"],"dateCreated":"2023-06-01T15:00:00Z","datePublished":"2023-06-01T15:00:00Z","dateModified":"2024-02-05T15:54:06Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA Looks Back at 50 Years of Gamma-Ray Burst Science\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/universe\/nasa-looks-back-at-50-years-of-gamma-ray-burst-science\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2023-06-01T15:00:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Science & Research\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"The Universe,Astrophysics,Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO),Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope,Gamma Rays,Gamma-Ray Bursts,Goddard Space Flight Center,International Gamma-ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL),International Space Station (ISS),Marshall Space Flight Center,Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory,Science & Research,Stars,Supernovae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Francis Reddy\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":9,"time_ago":"1 year","featured_image":{"id":488820,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160.jpg","title":"grb-wfc3ir-mstr-crop-final-circled-2160","alt":"","caption":"The Hubble Space Telescope\u2019s Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of the BOAT GRB and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending from the afterglow's upper left. The burst occurred about 2 billion light-years away."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475747"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475747"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":606232,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475747\/revisions\/606232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475747"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=475747"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=475747"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=475747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}