NRAO: National Radio Astronomy Observatory

About this Image

Artist's conception of the nearby gamma-ray burst of 29 March 2003 localized by NASA's HETE-2 satellite. Radio observations made with the Very Large Array, as well as the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Ryle Telescope, have been combined with optical and X-ray data to show that this cosmic explosion had a nested jet structure (shown in the figure). The thin core of the jet produced weak gamma-rays while the thicker envelope produced copious radio waves. This information reveals that different types of cosmic explosions (gamma-ray bursts, X-ray flashes, and some type of supernovae) have the same amount of total energy and therefore share a common origin. In effect, different cosmic explosions are "beasts with different faces but the same body".

Investigator(s):  Edo Berger, et al.

Alternate Resolutions

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This image is available in the following downloadable versions:

• 355 x 480 color JPEG
• 555 x 750 color JPEG
• 1109 x 1500 color TIFF

If you would like to obtain a higher resolution version of this image, please contact Pat Smiley.

For More Information

• Read the Press Release
• Read the NRAO Newsletter article
• Visit related website http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~ejb/media_030329.html
• Up one level for more info on Gamma-Ray_Bursters
• For unfamiliar terms, visit the NRAO Radio Astronomy Glossary

Technical Data

Telescope	VLA
Date of Observation	2003-06-04
Type of Observation	Continuum Observations
Band	X
Wavelength	3.6 cm
Frequency	8.4 GHz
Center of Image	RA: 10:44:50.00, Dec: 21:31:17.80 (J2000)
Field of View	0.0833 x 0.0833 degrees



Astronomical database entries for GRB030329
• Query NED for images of GRB030329
• Query SIMBAD for more GRB030329 data

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