Cosmic echo uncovers a billion-sun gamma-ray burst

Astronomers spotted the fading radio afterglow of a gamma-ray burst that Earth never saw because its jet was not pointed toward us. Using the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope, they traced ASKAP J005512-255834 to a distant, star-forming galaxy and identified it as the most convincing orphan-afterglow candidate yet, offering a template for finding similar high-energy explosions when the initial blast is missed.