Gamma Ray Bursts from the Unknown
Explanation:
Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) pose one of the greatest
mysteries of modern astronomy. About once a day, the
gamma-ray
sky
lights up with a spectacular explosion. No one knows what causes
these explosions or even how far away they are. The above map
represents the
entire sky in coordinates
centered on our Galaxy,
the Milky Way.
It shows the positions of over 800 of these mysterious bursts
of energy detected by the
BATSE
instrument on board NASA's
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
Before BATSE, most astronomers thought that most
GRBs
occurred in the disk of our Galaxy, but the above sky map shows
little sign of this. The distance scale of
GRBs
was the topic of a
historic debate
in April 1995. The positions in the above map are currently being
studied in great detail in an effort to uncover a clue about the
nature of
GRBs.
In the above
3B
map created by R. Nemiroff, spot size is proportional to peak
flux and spot color is indicative of hardness.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
