The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe

Gamma-ray bursts are about ten times more energetic than the most powerful supernovae. At their peak, they are the brightest objects in space, about 100,000 times brighter than an entire galaxy. In The Biggest Bangs, astrophysicist Jonathan Katz offers a fascinating account of the scientific quest to unravel the mystery of these incredible phenomena. With an eye for colorful detail and a talent for translating scientific jargon into plain English, Katz ranges from the accidental discovery of gamma-ray bursts (by a Cold War satellite system monitoring the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty) to the frustrating but ultimately successful efforts to localize these bursts in distant galaxies.