Eric Burns

GRB 250702B broke all the rules: its 7-hour duration didn't fit old models. The solution? A merger of a black hole with a helium star. This event links ultra-long gamma-ray bursts with supernovae and gravitational waves.

Astronomers have found that mysterious blue flashes prefer dwarf galaxies but avoid regions of new star formation. This indicates their nature: a merger of a dead neutron star with a massive dying star — not an explosion, but a collision.