Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Each image covers a field about the size of the full moon with the position of the afterglow indicated by the white circle. The first two pictures were taken 6 hours apart, while the final picture was made 2 days after the gamma-ray burst. Initiated by an unknown but immensely powerful explosive event, gamma-ray bursts are thought to be caused by blast waves of particles moving at nearly the speed of light. Evidence indicates that this burst originated at a distance of 12 billion light-years requiring a fantastic and extreme energy source.
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