BATSE GRB Final Sky Map
			
		
		
		
			What causes the most powerful explosions in the universe?  
The 
BATSE 
modules that flew on the 
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory allowed more 
insight into enigmatic 
gamma-ray burst (GRB) explosions than ever before.  
From 1991-2000, BATSE detected 2704 GRBs, 
much more than ever previously recorded.  
The 
above final sky map of GRB locations (and 
fluence) shows them to occur at 
random locations on the sky - strong 
evidence that 
GRBs occur across our universe and not in 
sky bands indicative of our 
Solar System or our 
Galaxy.  
As with any successful mission, answers create 
more questions, and astronomers continue to 
puzzle over what object creates a 
GRB, and what happens in the initial stages of the explosion.  
BATSE's legacy 
includes 
recording 1190 
gamma-ray flares from the Sun and the discovery of 
Terrestrial Gamma Flashes, unusual bursts of 
gamma rays that emanate from the 
Earth itself.  
To protect people from an uncontrolled re-entry, 
Compton was 
recently crashed into the 
Pacific Ocean.