[Previous] | [Session 121] | [Next]
A. S. Fruchter (STScI)
Gamma-ray bursts are perhaps the most powerful explosions in the universe; however, their origins remain obscure. I will provide a short history of observations of gamma-ray bursts and their host galaxies, and will show that observations of GRB hosts provide strong support for theories in which long-duration GRBs are produced by the formation of a black hole during the collapse of a massive star. As a result, GRBs may provide us with an extremely powerful probe of high-redshift star-forming galaxies.