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

This finding supports the idea that GRB 250702B was a gamma-ray burst rather than a tidal disruption event.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

The massive explosion unleashed a gamma-ray burst, GRB230307A, the second brightest in 50 years of observations and about 1,000 times brighter than a typical gamma-ray burst.

From Science Daily • Feb. 29, 2024

Even though that is quite long for a GRB, it means that AT2021lwx has put out far more energy over its entire lifetime than this gamma-ray burst did in its own.

From Scientific American • May 16, 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