GRB
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Astronomy & Space
| Stands for | Gamma-ray burst |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
GRB stands for Gamma-ray burst, an astronomy & Space abbreviation.
Brief, extremely energetic flash of gamma rays from a distant galaxy, lasting from milliseconds to minutes. Long bursts mark the collapse of very massive stars, while short bursts come from mergers of neutron stars; for a moment a GRB can be the brightest object in the universe.
Example: GRB 221009A was so intense that astronomers nicknamed it the BOAT, the brightest of all time.
Usage notes
US Vela satellites, built to detect nuclear tests, recorded the first gamma-ray bursts in 1967; the discovery was declassified in 1973. Their cosmic origin was confirmed in 1997 when afterglows were traced to distant galaxies. Bursts are named by date, as in GRB 221009A for October 9, 2022.
Related abbreviations
More astronomy & Space abbreviations
- ESO – European Southern Observatory
- ET – Extraterrestrial
- EVA – Extravehicular activity
- FAST – Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope
- FRB – Fast radio burst
- GEO – Geostationary orbit
- GTO – Geosynchronous transfer orbit
- H0 – Hubble constant
- HEO – Highly elliptical orbit
- HR diagram – Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
- HST – Hubble Space Telescope
- HZ – Habitable zone