Figure 21-12: Gamma-Ray Bursts (a) This map shows the locations of 2704 gamma-ray bursts detected by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (see Section 6-7). The entire celestial sphere is mapped onto an oval. The colors in the order of the rainbow indicate the total amount of energy detected from each burst; bright bursts appear in red and weak bursts appear in violet. (b) This map shows the same sky as in part (a) but at visible wavelengths. Comparing part (b) with part (a) shows that unlike X-ray bursts, which originate in the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy, gamma-ray bursts are seen in all parts of the sky.

(a: NASA)