Great Debates of Astronomy: The Distance Scale to Gamma-Ray Bursts Great Debate in 1995
The Distance Scale to Gamma-Ray Bursts Great Debate in 1995 An Introduction by Robert Nemiroff The 1920 Shapley-Curtis Discussion: Background, Issues, And Outcome by Virginia Trimble Gamma-Ray Bursts: An Overview by Gerald Fishman How Far Away Are Gamma-Ray Bursters? by Bohdan Paczynski The Distance Scale To Gamma-Ray Bursts by Donald Q. Lamb Concluding Remarks by […] The post Great Debates of…
The Distance Scale to Gamma-Ray Bursts Great Debate in 1995 marked a commemoration of the 1920 Shapley-Curtis discussion, which took place in the main auditorium of Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. Both debates were held on topics with similar uncertainties regarding distances.
In 1995, the distance scale to gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) was as contentious as the distance scale to spiral nebulae was in 1920. While evidence suggested GRBs occurred within our Galaxy, conflicting data indicated they might also be at cosmological distances.
Donald Q. Lamb and Bohdan Paczynski publicly disagreed at the debate, presenting evidence and reasoning for their respective preferred distance scales. The proceedings included two introductory talks, an opening by the organizer, and a closing by the moderator, which were published in the December 1995 issue of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
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- The Scale of the Universe – Great Debate in 1996 science.nasa.gov
