In less than 100 seconds, Carole Mundell provides a succinct introduction to gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) – the brightest, instantaneously most luminous explosions in the universe. Astronomers believe these extreme events occur when certain stars reach the end of the lives, collapsing to form a black hole before ejecting material that becomes focussed by strong magnetic fields.

Mundell, an astronomer at the University of Bath in the UK, explains that because GRBs lie at the outer edge of the discovered universe, they can be used to probe its early history. Mundell’s research group uses ground-based telescopes to study the optical properties of GRBs. The researchers have to be on constant alert for the discovery of the next GRB in the universe by satellites so they can start looking for the optical counterpart signals.