gamma-ray burst

American  

noun

1. a short-lived, extremely luminous burst of gamma radiation from an unknown astronomical source, occurring at random positions in the sky several times a day. GRB

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gamma-ray burst British  

noun

1. astronomy an intense but short-lived burst of gamma rays from an unknown celestial source. First detected in 1970, they have since been found to be widely distributed in the sky

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gamma ray burst Scientific  

1. Intense high-energy electromagnetic radiation, lasting between a fraction of a second and several minutes, emanating from distant regions of the universe. Recent theory suggests that they result from supernova explosions.

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Example Sentences

One possibility is that this was an unusually extreme gamma-ray burst.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

If this had been a short gamma-ray burst, caused by two colliding neutron stars, the collision would have created gravitational waves and have an afterglow in X-rays and visible light.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

Last year, astronomers detected the brightest explosion on record, a gamma-ray burst known as GRB 221009A, which lasted just over ten hours.

From BBC • May 12, 2023

"So, there's a reasonable chance this is the brightest gamma-ray burst to hit Earth since human civilization began."

From Scientific American • Mar. 29, 2023

The gamma-ray burst would have stripped away the Earth’s ozone layer causing intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun and may account for climate changes observed at the time.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015