Death of massive star creates brightest burst ever seen

Gamma-Ray Bursts are the most powerful explosive events in the Universe. They occur in far-off galaxies and so are usually faint. But on the morning of March 19th 2008 the Swift satellite found a burst which was so bright it could have been seen without binoculars or a telescope even though it was seven thousand times further away than the Andromeda galaxy. The burst was discovered by the Swift satellite on a fantastic day for GRB hunters. Swift typically finds only two a week; but for the first time Swift found five bursts within 24 hours. The second burst of the day is the new record holder. The enormous energy released in the explosion – brighter than the light from all of the stars in five million Milky Way Galaxies – was caused by the death of a massive star which collapsed to form a black hole. Full story...