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.
Read more about this topic: GRB 970228
Famous quotes containing the word observations:
“Jerry: She’s one of those third-year girls that gripe my liver.
Milo: Third-year girls?
Jerry: Yeah, you know, American college kids. They come over here to take their third year and lap up a little culture. They give me a swift pain.
Milo: Why?
Jerry: They’re officious and dull. They’re always making profound observations they’ve overheard.”
—Alan Jay Lerner (1918–1986)
“By sharing the information and observations with the caregiver, you have a chance to see your child through another pair of eyes. Because she has some distance and objectivity, a caregiver often sees things that a parent’s total involvement with her child doesn’t allow.”
—Amy Laura Dombro (20th century)
“I have never yet seen any plan which has not been mended by the observations of those who were much inferior in understanding to the person who took the lead in the business.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)