Observations
A gamma-ray burst (GRB) is a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation. GRBs were first detected in 1967 by the Vela satellites, a series of spacecraft designed to detect nuclear explosions.
GRB 970228 was detected on 28 February 1997 at 02:58 UTC by the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GRBM) and one of the Wide Field Cameras (WFCs) on board BeppoSAX, an Italian–Dutch satellite originally designed to study X-rays. Within a few hours, the BeppoSAX team determined the burst's position with an error box—a small area around the specific position to account for the error in the position—of 3 arcminutes. The burst was also detected by the Ulysses space probe.
The burst was located at a right ascension of 05h 01m 46.7s and a declination of +11° 46′ 53.0″. It lasted around 80 seconds and had multiple peaks in its light curve. Gamma-ray bursts have very diverse time profiles, and it is not fully understood why some bursts have multiple peaks and some have only one. One possible explanation is that multiple peaks are formed when the source of the gamma-ray burst undergoes precession.
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