NOVA Online (see text links below)
Death Star  

Catalogue of the Cosmos Go to Catalogue of the Cosmos

Flash required

Catalogue of the Cosmos

Gamma-ray bursts, the spectacular celestial explosions seen in NOVA's "Death Star," are just one of myriad marvels in outer space. In this feature, learn the difference between pulsars and quasars, antimatter and dark matter, brown dwarfs and white dwarfs, and many other extraterrestrial wonders.

Flash is a plug-in that allows for increased interactivity. If you can see the animated boxes at left, the plugin is already installed. If you do not see the boxes, you can install the Flash plugin, or select this feature's non-Flash version.


Glossary excerpted with permission from Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge, edited by Steven Soter and Neil deGrasse Tyson, New York: The New Press, 2001. Definition of gamma-ray burst courtesy of Dr. Jerry Bonnell, Goddard Space Flight Center.




Photo credits

Printer-Friendly Format   Feedback

One Astronomer's Universe | A Bad Day in the Milky Way
Catalogue of the Cosmos | Tour the Spectrum
Resources | Transcript | Site Map | Death Star Home

Search | Site Map | Previously Featured | Schedule | Feedback | Teachers | Shop
Join Us/E-Mail | About NOVA | Editor's Picks | Watch NOVAs online | To print
PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH

© | Updated January 2002
 
Shop Teachers Feedback Schedule Previously Featured Site Map Search NOVA Home Death Star Home Site Map Death Star Home