Enigmatic Eruptions: Gamma-ray bursts lack supernova fireworks

Gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, just got more mysterious. New observations challenge the theory that astronomers had constructed for the origin of many of these cosmic flashbulbs.

BURST BEGINNINGS. At the start of a gamma-ray burst, a collapsing star launches jets of matter. NASA, SkyWorks Digital

These flashes of high-energy radiation are a million trillion times as bright as the sun.