News From the Field
Astronomers Use Gamma-ray Burst to Probe Star Formation in the Early Universe

January 6, 2009

The brilliant afterglow of a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) has enabled astronomers to probe the star-forming environment of a distant galaxy, resulting in the first detection of molecular gas in a GRB host galaxy. By analyzing the spectrum of light emitted in the GRB afterglow, the researchers are gleaning insight into an active stellar nursery in a galaxy so far away it appears as it was 10 billion years ago. Full Story

Source
University of California, Santa Cruz

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