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News and Views
Nature 414, 853-854 (20 December 2001) | doi:10.1038/414853a
Astronomy: Blinded by the light
Stan Woosley
Abstract
If gamma-ray bursts released their energy uniformly in all directions they would be the most powerful events in the Universe. Astronomers are trying to see past the glare to determine the true energy.
Though sometimes touted1 as the largest explosions since the Big Bang, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are looking less energetic than they did just two years ago. Recent observations suggest that the energy required to produce a GRB may not be much more than that of an ordinary supernova, but somehow this energy is focused into a narrow jet moving very close to the speed of light and pointing directly towards Earth.
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