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Astrophysics

Shock breakout caught on camera

Nature volume 442, pages 992–994 (2006)Cite this article

What exactly is the relationship between bursts of cosmic γ-rays and the stellar explosions known as supernovae? Intimate, it seems: highly magnetic neutron stars might even have spawned both.

Four papers in this issue1,2,3,4 present the first sightings of a remarkable cosmic event: the evolution of a hugely energetic γ-ray burst into a fully fledged stellar explosion — a supernova. It's the first time these two phenomena have been observed with the same telescope, NASA's satellite-based Swift telescope, and the implication of a common origin for both is intriguing.

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Figure 1: Shocking past.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of North Dakota, PO Box 7129, Grand Forks, North Dakota, 58202, USA

    Timothy R. Young

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  1. Timothy R. Young
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Young, T. Shock breakout caught on camera. Nature 442, 992–994 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/442992a

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