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  • gamma-ray burst
    gamma-ray burst
    noun
    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
  • gamma ray burst
    gamma ray burst
    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.

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


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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.


Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

In 2022, Swift captured this image of a gamma-ray burst from a massive star dying two billion light-years from Earth.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

Researchersexamined the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A, which was caused by a neutron star merger.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2023

In 2014, a blind astronomer “sonified” the universe’s most explosive event: a gamma-ray burst.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 27, 2023

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

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

Measurements show that this distant supernova closely matches the brightness and spectral features of SN 1998bw, a well known supernova linked to a gamma ray burst that exploded much closer to Earth.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 28, 2025

"In fact, this was one of the narrowest jets seen for a gamma ray burst so far, which gives us a hint as to why the afterglow appeared as bright as it did".

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2024

That seems more likely than the one-in-10-billion chance of a gamma ray burst, Steinhardt says.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 4, 2021

Today, scientists believe that a gamma ray burst is the final breath of a dying star and the birth of a stellar-mass black hole.

From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2019

“It said, ‘This gamma ray burst has an interesting friend.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2017

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