A jetliner was nearly knocked out of the sky and sent plummeting to a deadly crash that would have killed all onboard by a bizarre attack from outer space – an explosive burst of cosmic rays sent ...

When space telescopes blazed with high-energy radiation for hours earlier this year, astronomers suspected that they were witnessing something special. The cosmic flash GRB 250702B was no ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The explosion (circled in red) was marked by repeated gamma-ray bursts over the course of a day.

In March 2025, a fleeting yet monumental cosmic event captured the attention of astronomers worldwide. For just ten seconds, a gamma-ray burst, known as GRB 250314A, illuminated our detectors, ...

A distant blast that kept shining for hours instead of seconds has forced astronomers to rethink how some of the universe’s most violent events unfold. The signal, a strangely persistent eruption of ...

A distant galaxy that lay quiet for decades has suddenly stirred, lighting up in dramatic bursts that have caught astronomers off guard. This unexpected awakening, traced to a black hole at the galaxy ...

"This explosion gave off more energy in a few seconds than the sun will over its entire life." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The curious minds at What If imagine a gamma-ray burst hitting a black hole, exploring the physics, cosmic effects, and potential dangers of this extreme event.

Artist's rendition of GRB 250702B's ultra-relativistic jet (moving at nearly the speed of light) escaping from its dusty, massive host galaxy. Astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel ...

Gamma-ray bursts are a relatively new field in space science. The first was discovered in the late 1960s, and in the nearly six decades since, there’s never been a discovery quite like this. It may ...