GRB 970508

GRB 970508 was a gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected on May 8, 1997, at 21:42 UTC. It is historically important as the second GRB (after GRB 970228) with a detected afterglow at other wavelengths, the first to have a direct redshift measurement of the afterglow, and the first to be detected at radio wavelengths. A gamma-ray burst is a highly luminous flash associated with an explosion in a distant galaxy and producing gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation, and often followed by a longer-lived "afterglow" emitted at longer wavelengths (X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio). GRB 970508 was detected by the Gamma Ray Burst Monitor on the Italian–Dutch X-ray astronomy satellite BeppoSAX. Astronomer Mark Metzger determined that GRB 970508 occurred at least 6 billion light years from Earth; this was the first measurement of the distance to a gamma-ray burst. Until this burst, astronomers had not reached a consensus regarding how far away GRBs occur from… Read by Stepleton. Recorded February 3, 2010; the article may have changed since. The article as it stood when recorded: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=341637362 Article today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_970508 Original recording: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GRB_970508.ogg License: GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html). This episode is a format-shifted (MP3) copy redistributed under the same license. Chapter images come from the recorded article via Wikimedia Commons; each chapter links its file page for credits. This show is an independent community project, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation.