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γ-Ray burst observed at balloon altitude

Nature volume 272, pages 337–338 (1978)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 01 July 1978

Abstract

SINCE the γ-ray burst was discovered in 1973, approximately 50 events have been observed using artificial satellites1,2. In addition, several bursts of smaller size have been found using balloon-borne detectors3–6 with large sensitive areas. No burst has yet been located on the celestial sphere, with an adequate precision to associate it with an astronomical object. To determine the precise position of a γ-ray burst which had not been predicted to occur, the detector must have a wide field of view and the capability of precise location of the source. A rotating cross-modulation-collimator (RCMC) proposed7 as a device to fulfill these apparently conflicting requirements was used in the series of balloon observations reported here. A small γ-ray burst was found during ∼ 150 h of observations and its celestial position was determined with a precision of ∼ 0.3°.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science, University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan

    J. NISHIMURA, M. FUJII, Y. TAWARA, M. ODA, Y. OGAWARA, T. YAMAGAMI & S. MIYAMOTO

  2. Department of Physics, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan

    J. NISHIMURA, M. FUJII, Y. TAWARA, M. ODA, Y. OGAWARA, T. YAMAGAMI & S. MIYAMOTO

  3. Department of Physics, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan

    M. KAJIWARA, H. MURAKAMI & M. YOSHIMORI

  4. Department of Physics, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan

    M. NAKAGAWA & T. SAKURAI

Authors
  1. J. NISHIMURA
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  2. M. FUJII
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  3. Y. TAWARA
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  4. M. ODA
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  5. Y. OGAWARA
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  6. T. YAMAGAMI
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  7. S. MIYAMOTO
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  8. M. KAJIWARA
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  9. H. MURAKAMI
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  10. M. YOSHIMORI
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  11. M. NAKAGAWA
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  12. T. SAKURAI
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NISHIMURA, J., FUJII, M., TAWARA, Y. et al. γ-Ray burst observed at balloon altitude. Nature 272, 337–338 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/272337a0

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