Gamma-Ray Burst
Afterglow Anniversary

On Feb 28, 1997, the Italian-Dutch satellite BeppoSax detected the first afterglow of a gamma-ray burst. From its precise determination of the position of the X-ray counterpart, optical observers were able to determine that the burst had occured in a distant galaxy. The puzzle as to where GRBs occur had finally been solved.

This became the first of many such detections, and opened the field of GRBs to a new array of theories and explanations. Much remains a mystery, but discovery on that day led to a new understanding of the most powerful explosions in the Universe. We offer a second look at number of articles on GRBs:

• Then vs. Now: Gamma Ray Bursts - a retrospective of what we knew ten years ago vs what we know now.
• GRB: Introduction to a Mystery - our original series of articles on GRBs
  • GRBs: Long or Short?
  • A Collapes and then a Spectacular Explosion
  • Chasing the Explosion
  • The discovery of the first afterglow
  • Lingering Mysteries