Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts

Cosmic gamma ray bursts are detected by satellite-borne instruments at the rate of about one per month. The timing of these events at two or more satellites yielded directional information showing that the gamma rays cannot be coming from the earth, the moon or the sun, or even from any of the plane...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific American 1976-10, Vol.235 (4), p.66-79B
Main Authors: Strong, Ian B., Klebesadel, Ray W.
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial satellites
Black holes
Cosmic rays
Gamma ray bursts
Gamma rays
Photons
Primary stars
Radiation detectors
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Summary:Cosmic gamma ray bursts are detected by satellite-borne instruments at the rate of about one per month. The timing of these events at two or more satellites yielded directional information showing that the gamma rays cannot be coming from the earth, the moon or the sun, or even from any of the planets. Attention is focused on identifying the direction of possible sources, the nature of the bursts, and the energies of the sources. The spectrum of a gamma ray burst is found to bear a resemblance to the average spectrum of X-rays emitted by Cygnus X-1, the X-ray source suspected of containing a black hole. Also discussed are source models where at least some of the properties of the bursts are predicted. Data obtained from new satellites Helios-2 and two SOLRADs provided with special gamma ray detectors will permit location of the bursts with sufficient accuracy to identify them with visible celestial objects.
ISSN:0036-8733
1946-7087
DOI:10.1038/scientificamerican1076-66