On the morning of October 9, astronomers’ inboxes pinged with a relatively modest alert: NASA’s Swift Observatory had just detected a fresh burst of energy, assumed to be coming from somewhere within our own galaxy. But six hours later—when scientists realized an instrument on the Fermi Space Telescope had also flagged the event—another more pressing email arrived. “We believe that this source is now likely a gamma-ray burst,” it read. “This would suggest a highly energetic outburst, and therefore we strongly encourage follow-up.” In other words, this was a career-making chance to catch a rare celestial event in real time.
Astronomers around the world sprang into action. They were eager
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