In an astounding development, images from the Italian/Dutch BeppoSAX satellite and Compton Gamma Ray Observatory satellite have detected a "cosmic gamma ray burst [that] released a hundred times more energy than previously theorized, making it the most powerful explosion since the creation of the universe in the Big Bang." According to Professor George Djorgovski of the California Institute of Technology, "For about one or two seconds, this burst was as luminous as all the rest of the entire universe." The burst, which is about 12 billion light-years away, may prompt scientists to rethink the theory of gamma ray bursts. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration news release summarizes the discovery.