Starship Asterisk*

Gamma-ray bursts are powerful bursts of gamma-ray radiation in connection with the explosive death of massive stars. The bursts themselves are short lived – lasting typically less than a few minutes, but is followed by an afterglow that can be observed for several days after the gamma-ray burst. The afterglow is thought to occur when a shockwave is emitted from the dying star and collides with the surrounding material. It is an extreme process and researchers have made theoretical models of it, but using new observations, a team including researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute, have shown that the afterglow behaves differently than expected. The results are published in scientific journal, Nature.

• Nature (online 30 Apr 2014) DOI: 10.1038/nature13237