WIRED Staff
Science

Slideshow: Star Burst Caught in Real Time

A NASA satellite catches the action as a massive star smashes to smithereens. It open up a whole new universe to astronomers. By Kristen Philipkoski.
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The image shows a strange explosion that appeared on Feb. 18, 2006, about 440 million light years away in the constellation Aries. The "before" image on the left is from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The "after" image on the right is from NASA Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope. The pinpoint of light from this star explosion outshines the entire host galaxy. Most other sources are foreground stars.Image courtesy SDSS (left), NASA/Swift/UVOT (right)

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, a NASA system that locates gamma-ray bursts detected by spacecraft. The network then distributes follow-up observations made by ground-based optical and radio observers. NASA calls it a one-stop shopping network for astronomers.

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An artist's rendering of the collapsing star scenario that scientists believe may have caused the gamma-ray bursts. The model shows the center of a dying star collapsing minutes before the star implodes and emits a gamma-ray burst seen across the universe.

Image courtesy NASA/Dana Berry