Number 322 (Story #3), May 20, 1997 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein
GAMMA RAY BURSTERS HAVE REVEALED THEMSELVES at optical and radio wavelengths. Astronomers have sought to establish whether these once-only gamma sources were near at hand (in the halo of our galaxy) or resident in distant galaxies. On May 8 the BeppoSAX satellite spotted a new GRB at gamma wavelengths. Alert Caltech scientists soon viewed the same object with the Palomar and Keck optical telescopes, establishing from the redshift that the object was some billions of light years away. Meanwhile, the Very Large Array radio telescope has also glimpsed the object. As of last week the visible signal was decreasing and the radio signal increasing in intensity. (Press releases from Caltech (May 14) and VLA (May 15).)
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