Hacking Satellites To Spot Gamma Ray Bursts

mustermark writes: "By reprogramming on the fly some of the instruments on satellites cruising the solar system, astronomers have pieced together an interplanetary "fishing net" to catch gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic explosions known in the cosmos. Lasting only seconds, they briefly outshine the entire universe but disappear before astronomers can get a fix on them. This latest hack, though, lets them triangulate a burst's position in a matter of seconds, catching them in the act."