Toward an Understanding of the Progenitors of Gamma-Ray Bursts

About this book

Gamma-ray bursts, otherwise extinguished by the Earth's atmosphere, were discovered serendipitously (Klebesadel et al. 1973; Strong et al. 1974) by space-based US satellites designed to insure compliance with the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (signed July 25, 1963) by searching for the -ray emission that accompanies nuclear weapons testing.