Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of
our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief
explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2001 June 3
Explanation: Last March, telescopic instruments in Earth and
space tracked a tremendous explosion that occurred across the
universe. A nearly unprecedented symphony of international
observations began abruptly on 2000 March 1 when Earth-orbiting
RXTE, Sun-orbiting Ulysses, and asteroid-orbiting NEAR all
detected a 10-second burst of high-frequency gamma radiation.
Within 48 hours astronomers using the 2.5-meter Nordic Optical
Telescope chimed in with the observation of a middle-frequency
optical counterpart that was soon confirmed with the 3.5-meter
Calar Alto Telescope in Spain. By the next day the explosion was
picked up in low-frequency radio waves by the by the European
IRAM 30-meter dish in Spain, and then by the VLA telescopes in
the US. The Japanese 8-meter Subaru Telescope interrupted a
maiden engineering test to trumpet