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Periodicity of the γ-ray transient event of 5 March 1979

Abstract

An unusual γ-ray burst event was observed on 5 March 1979 by nine different spacecraft1–5. The position of the event has been accurately determined1,2 as α = 5h 25.95 min, δ = −66°07.1′ (epoch 1950.0), coincident with the location of the supernova remnant N49 in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The burst was of very high intensity, and if isotropic and located at the distance (55 kpc) of N49 had a peak luminosity of >1044erg s−1. Even more interesting is the obvious 8-s periodicity3–5 of the event, following the initial very intense outburst. We report here the time history and power spectrum of this event as determined from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) data.

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Terrell, J., Evans, W., Klebesadel, R. et al. Periodicity of the γ-ray transient event of 5 March 1979. Nature 285, 383–385 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/285383a0

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