News Astronomy Gamma-ray bursts reveal distant galaxies By Ron Cowen April 25, 2001 at 10:51 am - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print A brilliant flash of high-energy radiation recorded on Feb. 22 lasted for less than a minute. But this gamma-ray burst, one of the brightest ever detected, is providing the strongest evidence so far that these cosmic flashbulbs originate in star-forming regions of distant galaxies and are generated by the explosive death of massive stars. The findings support the notion that these brilliant bursts and their afterglows can enable astronomers to study galaxies that lie too far away and are too dusty for the scientists to easily observe.